Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Falling Off a Tin Roof on Tuesday

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At “Tales from the South” the first Tuesday of the month means “Tin Roof Project.”

This month features Monica Staggs, who grew up in North Little Rock.

As she describes her childhood, she was a tomboy practicing how to rouchambeau boys on the playground and playing Charlie’s Angels in the woods behind her house.    During her senior year at college, Monica got to work on a film that came to Little Rock called Shelter where she was the stand in for the lead actress as well as landing a small part. She rode passenger as a car ran off an embankment, crashing through trees before and stopping just before a lake.

Getting a taste for the thrill of the film business, three weeks later, Monica flew to L.A. for the first time and worked on her second film. She fell in love with Los Angeles and everything about it. As soon as she returned to Arkansas she announced she was moving to L.A. and two weeks later she did on the plane, not knowing a soul, with three large duffle bags, a fork, a knife and a bath towel.

After moving to L.A., within three weeks she was lucky enough to land her third film. She began training in other areas of stunt work such as stunt driving, martial arts, stunt fights, and boxing. She has spent the last 20 years working in L.A.

Monica has done stunt work on more than one hundred film and television productions, including Kill Bill 2, Crash, The Italian Job, Bewitched, Starship Troopers II, Charlie’s Angels, Transformers, and many, many more. She has won numerous awards and accolades for her stunt work,  and at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards she was brought to the stage by Quentin Tarantino to share the award for Best Fight in Kill Bill 2. She is a board member of the Stuntwomen’s Association.

Monica still lives in L.A. where she writes sketch comedy and loves to play Texas Hold-Em, enters tournaments regularly and hosts home games where she attempts to take money from her fellow stunt peers. Her other pastimes include watching “South Park,” “Reno 911” and any and all horror movies.

Before her talk, music will be provided by The Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.  To reserve a ticket go to   www.talesfromthesouth.com.

Starving Artist Cafe’
DATE: Tuesday, April 03, 2012
TIME: Doors open 5pm
Dinner 5pm-6:30pm
Show starts at 7pm
LOCATION: 411 Main Street, North Little Rock

Admission is $5

Dinner is from the special Tales menu.
 Purchase your tickets HERE

Architeaser: April 1

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In April, each day there will be an architectural element featured.  Many will be obvious, others may be less visible.  The identification will be listed in the next day’s entry.

Here is April 1.

Sculpture Vulture: Baptist Health Healing Garden

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On the grounds of Baptist Health, there is a Healing Garden which features a sculpture by Kevin Kresse.  It depicts a person reaching down to help out another person.  Kresse’s abstract style allows the viewer to determine whether they think it is Jesus Christ helping a fallen man, or just a “Good Samaritan” aiding someone in distress.

The garden, which was designed by P. Allen Smith, also includes a cross on one end and a fountain on the other end.  Cathy Mayton, who was longtime executive vice president of Baptist Health envisioned the Healing Garden, which was supported by Russell Harrington, ceo and president of Baptist Health.  The project was made possible by donations from the Estate of Mary Ann Boyd, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Shell, the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Winstead, Gertrude Butler, Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Wills and hospital auxiliaries.

Though many people walk past the Healing Garden without noticing it as they are going in or exiting the hospital, it provides a refuge for countless visitors as well as employees.

A few years ago, I was out there and saw a grandfather and his toddler grandson in the garden.  I have no idea whether they were at the hospital for a joyous reason or a sad reason. But whatever the reason, as they were playing in the garden, they were enjoying themselves and having a time alone – just the two of them – in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.

This space exemplifies the purpose of public art.  It allows people to have their own unique experience which meets the current need of their life. It allows for interaction, quiet reflection, and personal experiences.

Every time I am there I see a variety of ages, races, and backgrounds sharing the space in a meaningful way.  It is through public art, and the arts in general, that we can come together as a society.   Art allows us to be both an individual and part of a greater being at the same time.

JAZZKAPELLE jazzes up the Arkansas Arts Center

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Tonight, March roars out like a Lion (instead of the proverbial docile lamb) at the Arkansas Arts Center.  Studio Party: Jazzkapelle is the Arkansas Arts Center’s premiere fundraising event for 2012. Following the overwhelming success of Studio Party after Tabriz in 2011, Studio Party has evolved to its own event. Designed as an exciting prohibition-themed party that supports the Arkansas Arts Center, the Studio Party theme is inspired the 1921 Max Beckmann drawing from the AAC collection titled Jazzkapelle, which is German for jazz band.

At Studio Party, guests are invited into the Deco-drenched cabaret experience of the early 20th century, just as in the drawing.

“One of the benefits of having a world class collection of art at your fingertips is that it offers an almost endless supply of themes and subjects to spark the imagination,” says Todd Herman, Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Center. “I love the idea that we are using a German drawing from the 1920s as our inspiration this year for Studio Party. The noise and energy that are so apparent in the drawing by Beckmann will be translated into a high-energy party at the Arts Center!”

Party goers will dance the night away in a club setting to Liquid Pleasure from Atlanta, GA, who in their 29th year have firmly established themselves as the South’s premiere show and dance band.

Tickets to the Studio Party are $100 party tickets and $250 VIP tickets. VIP tickets put AAC Patrons one step closer to the dance floor. While sipping sloe gin fizzes and classic champagne cocktails in a speakeasy lounge atmosphere, pre-party goers will enjoy the Roaring 20’s tastiest treats, live jazz and the antics of a Cabaret clad wait staff.

Windstream Corporation is the Studio Party presenting sponsor. Event sponsors are East-Harding, Central/Moon Distributors, Inc., Noble Strategies, CWP Productions and Stone Ward. Patron sponsor is First Security Bank.

Tickets will be available at the door.

Frank Thurmond at WordsWorth this Saturday

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Little Rock native Frank Thurmond, an instructor at UALR as well as an author and musician will have a book signing and reading at WordsWorth Books tomorrow (Saturday, March 31) at 1pm.

Thurmond’s book, Before I Sleep: A Memoir of Travel and Reconciliation was published by Et Alia press.  Here is how they describe it:

Before I Sleep begins with a telephone call: Absent for three decades, Thurmond’s birth father phones from his death bed, offering his son a chance for reconciliation. During those decades of absence, the son has passed through childhood in the rural South to fulfill his dream of studying abroad at Oxford University. Along the way, his travels take him from Dallas to Madrid to Soviet Moscow. The people he meets are larger-than-life, including Allen Ginsberg, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Queen Elizabeth II. Recounting life-shaping events and the insights they yield, Before I Sleep brings Thurmond’s physical, intellectual, and spiritual journeying vividly to life. Readers will find this an engaging and deeply inspiring memoir.

Thurmond will also be featured at the Arkansas Literary Festival in April.

Deadline Approaching for Arkansas Arts Summit Registration

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The Arkansas Arts Council is pleased to be a sponsor of the 2012 Arkansas Arts Summit April 17-18 at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. This intensive, two-day event will provide practical training for board members and arts administrators to help build and maintain art organizations and programs.

The conference will also offer performances, social events and networking opportunities. Registration is $95 and deadline to register is April 1. Click here to download a registration form, which includes a conference agenda and hotel information.

The Summit is presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center.

Led by Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser, the conference will equip participants to:

    • Recruit and manage board members
    • Achieve fundraising success
    • Create institutional image with impact
    • Improve strategic financial planning
    • Develop and support effective marketing campaigns

Sponsors include the Arkansas Arts Council, the William J. Clinton Foundation, Donna and Mack McLarty, Kaki Hockersmith, Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, the Windgate Foundation, Stella Boyle Smith Trust, the City of Little Rock and the City of North Little Rock.

UALR Music offers Opera A La Carte Thursday evening

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The UALR Opera Theatre will present “Opera à la Carte” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Great Hall of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Proceeds from this dinner will benefit the opera endowment fund.

Throughout the evening, guests will be treated to performances by UALR vocal music students. Cocktails will be served before dinner, and guests will be able to stroll the mansion gardens where student vocalists will perform.

“During each of the three dinner courses, delightful musical selections will be served to accompany the meal,” said Diane Kesling, assistant professor of music.

The evening also will include a silent auction featuring three specialty-designed hats from last season’s production of “Four Saints in Three Acts” by Virgil Thomson.

The UALR Opera Endowment Fund supports all aspects of opera production, such as purchase of music, scenery, orchestration, and costumes.