Happy Monday! I totally forgot to post my Sunday reads so I’ll post them now!

This comprehensive guide to good journalism about Ferguson, Missouri. Important to me because my family is from St. Louis and important in general because racism, classism, and police brutality should matter to everyone. And when we are inundated with a sensationalist 24-hour news cycle, thoughtful personal essays and in-depth journalism are awfully refreshing.

This blog post from The Guardian about how theatre can change a person’s relationship with society. Important to me because it is the premise of my WHOLE LIFE.

This essay in The Atlantic about how scary children’s stories are crucial to development and imagination. Important because scary stories are the best stories.

This interview with Willow and Jaden Smith. Important because it is hilarious, baffling, and possibly really, really deep.

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This weekend was pretty fun, and I went with friends and my little sister to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, which I thought was awesome. I read the books but don’t remember much from them (you know, my aging 22-year-old brain) so most of the movie felt new and thrilling. I knew some of the major plot points, but a lot of the smaller details were things I had completely forgotten. It was darker than the previous movies (no small feat when dealing with a series that has children killing each other) and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I literally gasped out loud at some of the visual effects and was pretty impressed with Jennifer Lawrence’s powerful performance as Katniss. The movie had me wanting to start a revolution, and made me immensely glad that I don’t have to.

We also saw  a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at my sister’s high school (she has to write a paper on it.) I’ve never read the book (whoops) or seen the movie (double whoops) so I don’t have anything to compare it to. The acting was good, and the set was impressive for a student production, but the story didn’t really do it for me. It’s always great to see young people making theatre, though, and I plan on watching or reading the original sometime soon.

That’s all she wrote, folks! I’m having a fun time trying to fit a week of work into two days, but hey, I get to see my family and eat copious amounts of turkey in a couple days, so it’s ok. Hope you have a good Monday!

Love and theatre,

-K