It is no surprise to anyone out there that this newsletter is not the only one of its kind that’s made available to anyone that desires to read it.
And rightly so! Since we began in this nonsense called “alternative journalism” some twenty plus years ago, we were one of a handful of pioneer sources to write about news and current events (or its equivalent thereof) that wasn’t necessarily found in so-called “mainstream” publications that were made available to the general public. In today’s media landscape, we are now part of the crowded areas where just about anyone and everyone can take out a part of their ever busy schedule to knock off a few words of so-called “wisdom” addressed to anyone that appreciates the attention, let alone gumption. There notes come from those that will say in a few words, “Please read me because I fell I have something to say!”…or something to that cause!
And within the last few days, weeks, months, and perhaps years, we here at Accessibly Live Off-Line central have felt the crunch. Anyone who can hack out a line or so can do so wherever they may roam, just as long as there’s a WiFi spot made available. This is true especially from those that are attending some kind of event, festival, or other place of existence that’s worth a comment or two! During a resent music based event that took place not too far away, those with their ever lovin’ phones were reporting upon the events taking place at the festival, and it wasn’t necessarily about who (or what) was performing on its stages. A lot of the notes spoke about what was going on with the person reporting the said news, usually through social media outlets. A good number (too many?) of these same reports were about “Hey! I’m here!!” and that was about it!
And these on-the-spot notes just wasn’t limited to text. It was mostly through audio and/or video streams. Thanks to such applications as “Facebook Live”, one can stream live video wherever they may be on what topic that is worth to stream about. Granted, thanks to recent events where a single person used violence to get their points across, there may be new restrictions on how these streaming applications can be used. But the idea to all of these antics in the name of journalism is the fact that anyone can do these reports under the vague title of “journalist”, and believe that they can within those realms. And the sad note to it all is the reality that it’s rather taken seriously!
This is a far cry to those bloggers that starting out on their musings to later wind up as something called “brand ambassadors”, where they receive a remunerate stipend (i.e. get paid) to hawk a product and/or service through their text/audio/video reports, usually in the form of a “review” of the said product and/or service stating that this item is the best of its kind! Since one is going to receive a pocket loaded of cash-ola just to mention the product/service, then one should state that it’s the best of its kind–don’t you think??
So what is this writer trying to get to through these musings? Well, in our first edition of this calendar year (Vol. 24-No. 1 to be exact), we have stated that we will make an attempt to give more emphasis in our program reviews and less to the weekly pondering. It’s not because we don’t have an interest in providing this said commentary. (And believe us, it’s been part of our bread-and-butter for all of these years!) But it is the fact that we find out that our readers take more of a stand through our reviews of events (especially stage theater productions) than what we would normally ramble about as an opening. And the recent data we obtained proves these points.
Every quarter, we go through an audit in terms of our circulation numbers and where our service reaches. This audit, performed by a firm that does such audits for on-line publications as ours, tallies the amount of traffic we receive each week. We can determine what days of the week are the most heaviest in terms to those visiting our website AccessiblyLiveOffLine.com, what time of day we receive the most “hits” (how often somebody visits our website), as well as where these hits come from, including those from outside of North America! There is also a point where we can find out what articles are being read (or at least glanced at,) and how often. These factors are used so we can service our audience in the best ways and means–all in the name of “science”–or something to that effect!
Upon obtaining our report for the first quarter of the 2019 calendar year (January-March, ’19 to be exact), we have found out that our theater reviews receive the most hits each and every week. Our front end articles–the article that begins our weekly editions, receive lesser amounts of hits per issue. Depending on the topic discussed within that front end article in question, those hits vary wildly. Some front end articles receive a lot of hits, while a few received very little. One issue that was released during this period received only seventeen hits as a whole, and has remained that way as of April 23rd. We won’t necessarily say what specific edition we are speaking about, but you get the idea!
So in future editions of Accessibly Live Off-Line, if you the readers do not find a front-end article, that doesn’t mean that an error has occurred. This just means that we didn’t place one in that specific edition. We will have the news and reviews placed within the edition, but since you audience members have the deep desire to read the reviews, then so be it! There won’t be any fear of missing out aka FOMO, so now you know!
And here is a disclaimer. Whenever we write a review of something or another, be it a review for a play, movie, TV program, or some other source that would fit the guidelines and standards to ALOL, please keep in mind that there reviews are not published in exchange for any monitory amount. In other words, no person and/or no other outside source is paying this writer to rant and rave about the media element being reviewed. Yes, we do obtain the media-based application for free. However, that is the only element we receive in exchange for a review. This way, we can become honest within the review.
If there is a media work we don’t care much about, then we can honestly state that “it stinks!” On the other hand, if we feel that the production is the best that we have seen of its kind, we will note that as well! Again, nobody is greasing our palms to mention that this movie/TV show/theater production/book title is indeed “the bomb!” Unless of course, it IS “a bomb”, which is the same method to state that “it stinks!” Does all of this make any sense?
So with all of these words being said and done, we will continue to what we have been doing for all of these days and times. And just as long as we can crunch the numbers as well as keeping up with the stiff competition, then we will be OK! It’s just another day in the ol’ neighborhood!
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NEWS AND REVIEWS
The Colony Theatre in Burbank presents as their guest production, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES, a humor filled cabaret program featuring a troupe of performs that tells legacy jokes going back to the days of your grandparents and then some!
In this show, a group of five players consisting of Julien Ari as “Rueben”, Arthur S. Brown as “Morty”, Wendy Hammers as “Bunny”, Danielle Kay as “Debbi”, and Jeffrey Lesser as “Nathan” come out to bring back a series of wisecracks, gags, monologues, and one-liners that are classics with a bit of a Jewish twist added for flavor! Some of the gags are funny, a few are groaners, and some are a bit on the “blue” side! Whatever they may be, these comical interludes have been around for years. Some one may have heard for the first time, or the first time this week!
The show itself is one part vaudeville, one part burlesque, and one part old Catskills where many a comic did their shtick making their audience laugh while they spend their summers at a resort in upstate New York as they beat the heat! And with such a stage show, their are even a few musical interludes as well! Jeffery Lesser as “Nathan” provides some of the music presented as he performs on the keyboards, giving this talented cast (if not well seasoned) a chance to shine on as they go about bringing back the humor set from one era to the next!
Daniel Okrent & Peter Gethers conceived this program that borrows many of the farces that have been around for more years than one could count. But that is what the “plot” of this showcase consists of. The performers may not be that old, but they do tell the jokes–and ones that are funny as that!
Directed by Jeremy Quinn, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES is a snappy ninety minutes full of fun and mirth that one can shake a shtick at! (Pun indented!) And one doesn’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this presentation. (It helps a bit since some yiddish is thrown into the dialogue!) Whatever the case, one will laugh their tokhes off with some of these classics! Just try to remember a few of ‘em as you gather around the water cooler at the office! And retell those proper gags for the appropriate company!
OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES, performs at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street, Burbank, until June 16th. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM, with matinees Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 PM. For tickets and for further details, call 855-HIT SHOW (855-448-7469) or via online at http://www.PlayhouseInfo.com
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THE END OF SEX (or What’s Wrong With Mom), Gay Walch’s comedy about a mature woman’s decision to give up sex, and the people within her domestic domain that is affected by this choosing, makes its world premier at Burbank’s Victory Theatre.
Sara Botsford and Tom Ormeny are Nancy and Ken, a well seasoned couple that has been married for some thirty-six years. Ken desires to commemorate her birthday by giving her a bouquet of flowers and taking her out to dinner with their millennial aged daughter Heather (Austin Highsmith) and son-in-law Ryan (Chad Coe). Nancy makes an announcement that she desires to cease having sex. She just wants to be respected, but nothing more beyond anything of a sexual nature. Ken, still maintaining his ability partaking in this activity by taking little blue colored pills, isn’t too pleased with her decision. Neither is Heather and Ryan, as they are attempting to get their own careers and lives in check. This cascades between where the women involved stand within their fields, how the men reacts to this rather trying course of action, and to where one may be placed in terms of personal intimacy, or lack thereof.
This new play by Gay Walch focuses upon three generations of people on where a woman of her demographic remains as valid and where the men of similar beings hold on. Although sex is the focus, it’s not so much on experiencing sex, but how one finds it appropriate based upon issues from the viewpoint to the beings, and what others may find challenging. The entire storyline takes place within a twenty-four hour period, meaning that every person involved because part of the situation right away, and doesn’t necessarily conclude with a so-called happy, if not satisfying, conclusion.
As to the cast, Sara Botsford as Nancy and Tom Ormeny as Ken are the real leads in this stage piece. They are not leading because of seniority, but they play the characters that show off the most frustration. The second tier cast members in terms of age, Austin Highsmith and Chad Coe as Heather and Ryan are just as appealing, especially Coe as he sports a “cool” attitude almost akin to a James Dean-type. He takes everyone in more of a relaxed stance, but not taking a “chill-pill” to, well…chill! And rounding out the cast is Lianna Liew as Sierra, a “Gen-Y”-aged woman who served as the new generation to the frustrations (if not hang-ups) of the title physical emotion i.e. “sex”!
Along with the members of the cast on stage emoting the storyline under the stage direction of Marie Gobetti, co-artistic director of The Victory Theatre along with Tom Ormeny who appears as Ken, Evan Bartoletti’s set design of Nancy and Ken’s dwelling space resembles a cozy unit that is of cosmopolitan mid-century modern, complete with smart looking furnishings that shows that the well seasoned couple knows how to live in their progressive and personal universe.
THE END OF SEX holds to some genuine laughs, even if the subject in hand is only comical to those that maintain something of a sex life. Even for those that don’t see any end to the title emotion, it still packs a punch and can really “get it up”!
THE END OF SEX (or What’s Wrong With Mom), performs at The Victory Theatre mainstage, 3326 West Victory Blvd., one block east of Hollywood Way, Burbank, until June 2nd. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons at 4:00 PM. For ticket reservations and for more information, call (818) 841-5421, or via online at http://www.TheVictoryTheatreCentre.org
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The Los Angeles Woman’s Theatre Festival presents HOT OFF THE PRESS, a performance consisting of a collection of shorter solo stage readings that speak upon a variety of topics, focusing upon personal issues.
The performances will consist of Yvette Cason’s Real As It Can Be, where she converses on her life journey as being a musician, actor, and as a parent whose kids have “grown and flown”. The second show is Alma Collins’ Strong As Honey, that describes her connection between her mother and grandmother and how her duties as caretaker changed her own life. Winding up this presentation is Self-ish!, written and performed by Roxana Ortega where as an actor, she chooses either taking on a performing gig of a lifetime, or to become a caretaker for her mother suffering with Alzheimer’s.
Jessica Lynn Johnson and Juliette Jeffers will serve as hosts for the evening that showcases the writing and performing talents of this trio of woman that will speak on life’s own stories that make up part of the domestic landscape.
HOT OFF THE PRESS will be presented at The Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks for one performance only, Thursday, May 23rd, at 7:30 PM. The Whitefire Theatre is located at 13500 Ventura Blvd., (at Sunnyslope), Sherman Oaks. For tickets and for more details, call (818) 760-0408. Online ticketing is available through Pay Pal at http://www.lawtf.org.
The Los Angeles Woman’s Theatre Festival can also be accessed through their places in social media via Twitter https://twitter.com/lawtf and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesWomensTheatreFestival
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