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Greek Soprano Dimitra Theodossiou on Board Burning Ferry Norman Atlantic, Rescued by Helicopter

Greek opera star Dimitra Theodossiou is reported to have been one of the 478 people among the burning ferry "Norman Atlantic" in the Mediterranean Sea.Theodossiou was rescued by helicopter and taken to the hospital in Lecce, but is safe and located in Rimini, Italy.The ferry caught fire Sunday, Dec. 28, en route to Ancona, Italy, from the Greek port of Patras. But the boat workers are undergoing criticism for how they handled the emergency situation. Theodossiou described a harrowing wait for rescuers on the bridge of the ship. She said men had rushed forward from lower decks, even after being told to “give precedence to children, the elderly and women.”“They pulled people away, pushing people aside to save themselves,” she said. “I was also struck, but I reacted to get to the helicopter, I had rage inside. I thought, it’s now or never. It was awful. I will never forget it.”She told the newspaper that no alarms had sounded and that she awoke in her first-class cabin after smelling smoke. Initially, she said, she went to the lower deck because the lifeboats were there.
By Jaime Prisco

  • Secret Play 'The Dreary Coast' by Jeff Stark Staged on the Gowanus Canal: E. James Ford and Ava Eisenson Star

    Ever wonder what it is like to attend a secret play? "The Dreary Coast," an immersive theatrical work from Jeff Stark, will enlighten you right on the banks of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.This retelling of the Persephone myth lets 20 or so theatergoers experience the performance in shallow, flat-bottomed boats up and down the Gowanus. Several dozen spectators watch the play from the shore. The play is legendary in certain Brooklyn underground arts circle, and Stark, who has lived two blocks from the canal for the past 15 years, has been dreaming of staging a performance on its waters for nearly as long. For the past year, he has scouted the bridges and rock formations and vacant lots that dot its banks, surveying the most appealing, and legal, locations for scenes to unfold.The $40,000 budget for the play was mostly raised on Kickstarter, with dozens of collaborators, including the well-known local “experience architect” N.D. Austin.But this play begins differently than others. The evening begins in a neighborhood bar, where audience members are asked to sign an indemnity waiver. Priestesses clad in kimonos and eye makeup arrive, wafting incense and ringing bells, leading you to a disused space and where there is a silent ritual. Once the action shifts to the waterway, the Olympian pantheon takes over.Charon (E. James Ford) and ice queen Persephone (Ava Eisenson) plot an escape from the abyss.
    By Jaime Prisco

  • Critically Acclaimed Score for Alejandro G. Innaritu's 'Birdman' Deemed Ineligible for An Oscar: Antonio Sanchez Files an Appeal

    Fans of the amazing Antonio Sanchez’s drum-heavy score for Alejandro G. Innaritu's widely acclaimed film "Birdman" will be disappointed to hear that it is has been deemed ineligible for an Academy Award this season.The branch disqualified the movie for best score because its soundtrack includes pieces of classical music in addition to Sanchez’s score. But this decision has not come without controversy. There is a highly contentious debate about whether or not to overturn the decision between Sanchez, Inarritu, Fox Music and the chairman of the academy's music branch executive committee, the details of which have not been previously reported.When the Golden Globe nominations were announced, "Birdman" topped the list with seven nominations, including one for best original score. Later that day, Dave Hanson, the Academy Awards's manager, passed along a note from Charles Fox, chairman of the academy's music branch executive committee, to Sanchez through his manager, notifying the composer that his score was ineligible and would not appear on the academy's long list for the best original score Oscar consideration.Fox wrote, "The [music branch] committee viewed the film, reviewed the cue sheets and discussed the score at length, particularly with regard to Rule 15, Section II-E of our Awards Rules, which state, 'Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.’”
    By Jaime Prisco
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