Byron Woods

The Amazing Criswell had it easy. That suave, self-styled–and frequently inaccurate–psychic of the 1950s, immortalized in Plan 9 From Outer Space and Tim Burton’s 1994 biopic Ed Wood, could easily afford to soulfully stare into the cameras and predict the end of the world. (For those who missed it, happened on Aug. 18, 1999.) Since […]

On the face of it, there’s not a lot that’s out of the ordinary at the start of this season in regional dance. We’ve grown accustomed by now to prestigious tours, notable residencies, strong local works and an enviably steady growth rate that anticipates the addition of one to two new dance companies to the […]

In some basement not far from where you read this, a cobweb-shrouded black and white television suddenly flickers into life, decades after its last use. Though the picture’s really snowy, you can just make out an older man in a white lab coat staring gravely at the camera. After a moment’s silence, he says, portentously: […]

Yes, the ending was powerful. More than one audience member was seen to brush away a certain dampness about the eyes; if the truth be told, I did the same. We had come to learn a lesson as well, ostensibly about how both racism and capital punishment dehumanize the cultures they inhabit, and how precious–and […]

There’ll be theater news enough to raise a few eyebrows when The Independent’s two official Fall Season Previews hit the streets starting Sept. 11. The only problem is, the regional theater season actually begins in earnest this weekend, with major productions simultaneously opening in Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh and Sanford. All told, there’s a six-pack […]

A recent update from the United Kingdom: The Scotsman, billed as “Scotland’s national newspaper,” praised Wordshed Productions’ performance of Crash Diet and Other Sins at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in its Aug. 8 edition. But by its description in its three-out-of-five-star review, The Scotsman saw a significantly different show than the one that played locally […]

One indication of a theater community’s ambitions can be found in its efforts to export its wares. This month, two regional companies–Wordshed Productions and New World Stage–are sending works to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest international theater festival. Even for the avid theater-goer, the metrics are simply overwhelming: 619 companies, performing 1,491 shows […]

I always forget that the ADF generally closes with all the understated grace of a head-on car collision. The last weeks verge on pure acceleration as faculty and students rush to finish classes and new works before the end, in showings across Duke’s East Campus. Of course, running out of pavement at top speed can […]