Crazytown

THE SWEET SOUND OF FREEDOM

By Laure Porché

So, I was going to write a whole post about how sometimes you have to stop doing things you love because they're bad for you, but I feel that you're all better off without my musings. And once again, I am writing this with time holding a knife at my neck, so it's not really the best position to go in depth into any subject. Instead, I've got a discovery for you!

My dad and brother being here from France to see that I settle easily, we tend to spend a lot of time wandering the city aimlessly, looking around and doing touristy stuff. On Wednesday night, after a stroll in Bleecker street, we entered the Cornelia Street cafe, curious to hear whoever was playing that night. 

We had a pleasant enough time during the first set. From the corner of my eyes I saw the second set singer come in and thought to myself, "If she sings as great as she looks, we're in for a treat". And boy, was I right. 

If you love jazz, the Sarah E. Charles Quartet is a must see. Not only are the musicians insanely good and completely attuned to each other, but Sarah herself is an amazing vocalist. She often made me think of Rachelle Ferrell's best work, even though comparison is not a good way to do justice to her talent. The whole thing was completely inspired, not only that but the music was interesting and fresh, and none of the artists on stage were ever showing off. They were just making music. Perfectly.  

So if you're in New York and not doing anything on September 4th, you can go and listen to them at Dizzy's Club, as they are part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center series. In the meantime, here's a fashion week video where she upstages both the models and the dancers... 

 

LAURE PORCHÉ is a former dancer, now a translator for the Children/YA branch of Hachette Publishing. In addition, she wrote the texts for the dance-theater solo "My house is nothing like my mother's". In September she will fulfill her lifelong dream of studying acting in New York by entering the Musical Theater program at Circle in the Square Theater School. www.laurelei.com
EMAIL HER |  BLOG | REVIEWS |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

FRESH FRENCH ART - PART 4

By Laure Porché

For the last installment of my French Art series, let me talk to you about a friend of mine. I had the chance to work with several photographers over the last few years: never have one captured so well the images I had in mind that my friend, Gilles Alonso. He's got an extraordinary eye for location, and his portraits of women always have a special feel to them, reflecting the person he's photographing. Find some of my favorite pictures of his below (click on the images to view them bigger). For more, visit his website.

THIS SHOULD TAKE SOME TIME...

By Laure Porché

Soooooooooooooo.... here I am, on Friday, with no blog post in sight. I have some excuse, as the past week has mainly been occupied by moving from freakin' France to overwhelming NYC. I toyed with the idea of falling back on my already planned French Art 4th installment, but it would upset the symmetry of things. So, in an effort to entertain you anyway, here are 15 of my favorite theater related videos! Enjoy! 

 

 

 

FRESH FRENCH ART - PART 3

By Laure Porche

So, alternating between photography and illustration, here's the third installment of my French Art series. This time I would like to introduce you to the work of Anne Romby. Anne illustrates classic fairy tales by using an unusual technique that mixes paint and leaf skeletons...  You can find her books on Amazon, either in Spanish or in French (you most likely already know these stories anyway). In the meantime, here are some of my favs from her. 

WELCOME TO FAHRBOT TOWN

   There is only one show in which you can find liberated females, puppets having sex, and aliens farting helium. 
By Laure Porché (Translator/Actress/Geek in chief) 

As I was reading Leah's great post the other day, it occurred to me that her point was not complete without mentioning one of the most feminists sci-fi shows I've ever seen: Farscape. I know I've spoken of my love for it in a previous post, but let's dive deeper, shall we? 

I myself waited 30 years to watch this show, having vowed that I NEVER would after a glimpse of make up and puppets on the French sci-fi channel that had me deem it "kitsch". But thank God, Tumblr happened, and at last I could resist no longer. So, without further ado, here are some reasons to watch Farscape. 

FRESH FRENCH ART - PART 2

 So, my French Art series continues, this time with some shameless family promotion. 

My brother Leonard, 22, discovered photography when he was 13 and has been developing his style ever since. His work is set mostly in urban settings (Paris!) at night. I personally think he has a lot going on for him, but I may be biased... So, I will let you be the judge. Below are some of his latests, some of which were in the exhibit that happened a couple months ago in Paris (some of those are better viewed big, so click click). 

His Blog :: His Flickr :: His Facebook

ALL THE COOL KIDS HAVE REGRETS

 Who hasn't heard the expression "no regrets"? But the truth is, we'd better buckle up for some if we want to actually have lived... 
By Laure Porché (Performer/Translator) 

I don't know about you, but I tend to regret more the things I did than the things I didn't do. Because of this, I spent many years doing nothing, living in fear of having to one day regret my choices. Let's face it, the overwhelming message of any well-meaning friend or self-help book is "Live to the fullest, you don't want to have regrets". 

Ah, yes. But here's the catch: if you truly live to the fullest, you are going to have regrets. For sure. It's non-negotiable. From the moment you make a choice, you are giving up the alternative and taking the responsibility of whatever future feelings will come with that choice. 

I'm not saying we are bound to regret our choices. But some regrets are unavoidable, no matter how right the choice was for you. For instance, I know that I will one day have to live with the fact that I won't have spent precious time with my 95 year old grandma, because I'm choosing now to follow my dream of moving to NYC. I'm hoping I will not regret that choice, but I know that, at some point in my life, I will regret not having had that time with her. 

And, in a more practical way, how many of us performers have had to give up a great job because we'd already said "yes" to something else? And how many of us were unable to let go of this quickly and not wallow, loosing precious time and energy? 

So, instead of pretending there is such a state as "having no regrets", shouldn't we learn (and teach our children) to handle the consequences of our choices, whatever they may be? Risk taking comes with potential mistakes, and any real life choice means that you are giving up something in the process. Better to be prepared to accept that than strive for an elusive state of "no regrets". 

And with that, I leave you with the epitome of regretful songs, by God. 

 

LAURE PORCHÉ is a former dancer, now a translator for the Children/YA branch of Hachette Publishing. In addition, she wrote the texts for the dance-theater solo "My house is nothing like my mother's". In September she will fulfill her lifelong dream of studying acting in New York by entering the Musical Theater program at Circle in the Square Theater School. www.laurelei.com
EMAIL HER |  BLOG | REVIEWS |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

 

 

FRESH FRENCH ART - PART 1

By Laure Porche

I was wondering what French marvel I could possibly help you discover (I myself know more about American literature, cinema and theater than I do about French happenings), when I suddenly remembered that there are quite a few French illustrators and photographers whom I love. So without further ado, I give you part one of a French Art series I will carry out over the summer!

François Place is a french author/illustrator, who not only writes and illustrates his own stories: he created a whole world, Orbae, with twenty six different countries/regions. For each, he wrote a tale exposing the traditions of the place, and illustrated some of the fauna, flora and folkloric costumes. The writing is as beautiful as his artworks, and although the three books have not been edited in English, they would make a great (and motivating!) gift for someone learning French...or any dreamer, lover of art or imaginary traveler. Find some of his gorgeous illustrations below ... 

Atlas des Géographes d'Orbae 

 Book 1 - Book 2 - Book 3

AND WHAT DO YOU DO ?

 It is not always easy to find your place when you refuse to be put in a box. It is, however, highly entertaining to watch other people trying, and failing, to categorize you. 
By Laure Porché, Performer/Translater (and many other things)

Ever since I was a child, I always had an overwhelming urge to thoroughly and immediately explore anything that took my fancy. One thing ALWAYS led to another and I lived happily in a Matryoshka-like world, where every interest would eventually bring me to another, completely new.

As I grew older, needless to say, I didn’t change much. What did change were the expectations of the outside world. I discovered with dismay, as I boarded the coasts of adulthood, that you were not supposed to “do” too many things.  

When most people had an easy and unique answer to the question “And what do you do?”, I agonized for long seconds, always feeling that whatever answer I gave would be reducing, and never feeling like I was entitled to it anyway.

I CANNOT SPEAK WELL ENOUGH TO BE UNINTELLIGIBLE.

By Laure Porché

I’m a sucker for the life of dead female authors. I don’t know where the fascination lies. It probably dates back to my ten year old self imagining my tragic destiny as a lonesome and misunderstood writer (yes, I was a depressing child) but the fact remains: give me anything Austen, Brontë, Woolf or less known,  and I float off into a world of romanticism and imagination. And then I come back with relief to my present happy self. If you’re so inclined, here are some gems you might enjoy.

• The Complete Poems of Emily Brontë (here’s my favorite)


• The Victorian Women Writers project : if you’ve got a little time, you’ll find some unknown treasures in there.

• Miss Austen Regrets: A wonderful film about Jane Austen’s last year. Olivia Williams is subtle and mesmerizing as always. You can also watch it on YouTube if you can forget the spanish subtitles.
   


• The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan: A fictional biography of the Brontës, as well written as it is clever. The book haunted me for weeks after I read it. You can read a much better formulated review here. 

Note: The title quote is by Jane Austen.

LAURE PORCHE is a former dancer, now a translator for the Children/YA branch of Hachette Publishing. In addition, she wrote the texts for the dance-theater solo "My house is nothing like my mother's". In september she will fulfill her lifelong dream of studying acting in New York by entering the Musical Theater program at Circle in the Square Theater School. www.laurelei.com
EMAIL HER |  BLOG | REVIEWS |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR