This site, Nights in the Past, bills itself as “the online guide to historic hotels and accommodation in the UK, Europe and USA.” It lists two establishments claiming associations with our Mr. Dodgson: The Old Deanery in Ripon, Yorkshire, and The Ravensworth Arms in Lamesley. The first claim is slight (Mr. Dodgon’s father was appointed Canon of Ripon Cathedral at one point, before moving up again shortly thereafter to Archdeacon at Richmond). As to the Ravensworth Arms, it’s true that Alice Liddell’s father was descended from the Barony of Ravensworth, but there the connections with Mr. Dodgson begin and end as far as we know. The latter claim, judging by the advertising copy on the Ravensworth Arms’ web site, is based entirely on anonymous “suggestions” that Mr. Dodgson stayed there and even wrote some of a certain book there. We can only suggest that such claims might well be considered nonsense (and not of the good kind). Someone should make a list of all the different places claiming that Mr. Dodgson “might have written” some or all of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on their premises. Impenetrability!
The Blog of the LCSNA
Burbles
The Blog of the LCSNA
“In Wonderland” Kickstarter Project
At our recent Winston-Salem meeting, we heard briefly from Ms. Amber Adams, a choreographer and dancer hoping to raise funds to finance a physical theatre program based on “Alice in Wonderland” in Wilmington, NC. As always, we make no comment or endorsement of anything we post per se; we just like to keep you informed!
You can read about it by clicking here.
Camille Rose Garcia and Mary Blair Exhibit at Disney Family Museum
Attention lovers of Carroll/Alice-themed art! We have just learned of the following exhibit, opening May 9th. If you attend, drop us a line and let us know what you thought!
Camille Rose Garcia: Down the Rabbit Hole
Walt Disney Family Museum
San Francisco, California
May 9–November 3, 2013
This exhibition will feature two very different artists who have contributed to the canon of Alice illustration: Mary Blair and Camille Rose Garcia. Color stylist and designer Mary Blair helped introduce modern art to Walt Disney and his studio, and worked with him for nearly 30 years. Ten of her concept paintings for the 1951 Alice in Wonderland animated film will be on display. Juxtapozed (the spelling is intentional to reflect the sponsor of the exhibit) with this are 40 drawings by Camille Rose Garcia from her illustrated Wonderland in 2010. “With her conscious disregard for perspective or scale in her compositions, Garcia creates a fresh and contemporary depiction of the dreamlike story. Her illustrations not only draw from a Goth sensibility, but also the thriving ‘low-brow art’ movement in Los Angeles and its references to classic cartoons, 60’s TV sitcoms, rock music, and comic books.” Further information at waltdisney.org.
A Jabberwocky for the Computer Programming Age
Today, we received this note and clever riff on Lewis Carroll’s famous poem Jabberwocky, from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Thank you, Austin Dixon, for sharing this with everyone! Readers: if you enjoy it, please post a comment here to let Austin know you appreciate his efforts. Thanks! Now, we just need someone to write a version as a Monty Python script.
I would like to submit this Jabberwocky parody for your consideration. It’s what Jabberwocky would look like if it were a Python Script. I wrote this myself, and I give you the right to use it on your site if you wish. Just include my name if you do. Thanks.
def jabberWocky (brillig, toves, slithey, gyre, gimble, borogroves, mimsey, in_grabe, out_grabe, mome):
while (brillig == True) AND (toves == slithy):
wabe = toves * (gyre + gimble)
return wabe
if (borogroves != mimsy):
mome.raths = in_grabe
momeStatus = mome.raths
print (“Status for Mome Raths is”, momeStatus)
else:
mome.raths = out_grabe
momeStatus = mome.raths
print (“Status for Mome Raths is”, momeStatus)
Copyright 2013 by
Austin Dixon
Digitization Technologist | Hoole Library
A New Theatrical Snark Sighting in Chicago
Apologies that we haven’t made a new post in a while. We have been off hunting Snarks–unsuccessfully, which may be just as well. Today, as Fate would have it, we received this very civilized note:
Dear Lewis Carroll Society
My name is Josh Sobel and I am Literary Manager for Chicago’s Strawdog Theatre Company. I hope this email finds you well! I noticed that you had posted information about the last time a Chicago theatre company had adapted Carroll for the stage, with the opera BOOJUM!
As it turns out, the Snark has found its way to Chicago once again – I am directing an environmental, ensemble-based adaptation of the poem THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK with Strawdog, taking place in our Hugen Hall space (essentially our pub) and utilizing the actual text of the poem itself in inventive and unexpected ways.
We have gathered 12 brilliant Chicago actors and have been working to bring the story to life in a minimalist, highly imaginative style, an almost pub-theatre approach engaging directly with the audience to open up their imaginations to the magic of this journey.
Thank you very much for your time! All the best, Josh Sobel
Their enclosed press release includes the following details:
Performances: May 6 – May 28 at Strawdog Theatre Hugen Hall, 3829 North Broadway Street. The performance schedule is Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m.; May 20 and 21 performances are at 9 p.m. Opening/Press Night is Monday, May 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. Tickets may be ordered online at strawdog.org or by calling OvationTix toll-free: 866-811-4111.
Based on the classic Lewis Carroll poem, The Hunting Of The Snark, is a family friendly show inviting its guests to come aboard for a tall tale of mischief and mayhem, of high sea hijinks and impossible voyages, of an improbable crew and an extraordinary task, of an inconceivable creature in a peculiar land, and of the unquenchable thirst for adventure. A design and ensemble-based piece mixing theatrical influences from Chicago and around theworld; Strawdog stretches, flexes, trips over a ladder and treats the audience to a hilarious and touching take on one of the world’s best loved poems.
If you attend this production, please email us a 1-2 paragraph write-up that we can share on this blog!
And here’s a video teaser they’ve just released:
Rare BBC Alice Productions Now Available on DVD
Warner Home Video and BBC America have teamed up to release two Alice in Wonderland rarities on DVD. The first is the BBC’s 1986 production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland staring Kate Dorning as Alice, originally broadcast as a weekly series of four 30-minute episodes. The second is the 1973 production of Alice Through the Looking-Glass with Sarah Sutton as Alice. You can be sure you won’t find either of these on your local video streaming service. Both can be purchased from the BBC America Shop and are currently listed at a special “new release price” of $15.98. See below for links.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1986) — on IMDB, on BBC America Shop
Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1973) — on IMDB, on BBC America Shop
Dance with Alice in Berlin
Imagine the scene in the gallery: on a giant screen, you watch Alice leap off a book and lead you into Wonderland. Slowly you realize that the animation you are watching is somehow watching you—and copying your every move. As the artist, Ruth Sergel, describes it: “In front of the looking glass, fantasy and reality merge as Alice fluidly mirrors the viewer’s every move.” The interactive work is currently being exhibited at Multimedier Schlachthof in Berlin, Germany.
Ruth Sergel is an American artist, activist, and “interactive technology designer” whose film and performance work has appeared at MOMA in New York, and in galleries around Europe. More information about “Alice in Berlin” can be found on Sergel’s website, Street Pictures, where there is also a video showing visitors interacting with Alice.
New Alice in Wonderland Board Game Seeks Backers
Back in November we told you about Rob Stone, the game designer who rediscovered a lost Alice in Wonderland card game and published the rules for all to read online. Rob made that discovery while researching his own Alice-inspired game. His game, called “Alice: Adventures in Wonderland Board Game,” is now finished and he is raising funds to launch it using a Kickstarter campaign.
Rob’s game features two decks of cards—a player character deck and a story deck—and a story board, along which players move through the chapters of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Rob explains:
It was important to us not to add anything to the story; to remain faithful to the original work so that fans as well as educators would find in this game, a pathway to experiencing the characters, places and events in Wonderland in a way we call going beyond the book. It doesn’t replace the book or add to it, rather it transports the story into the three-dimensional space of a tabletop board game.
On the Kickstarter campaign page you can read a fuller description of the the game-to-be, and, if you like the sound of it, you can make a donation to help bring it to life.
Roll up for a “One Night Stand in Wonderland” in Aurora, CO
Attention all Colorado Carrollians: One Night Stand Theater will be presenting “One Night Stand in Wonderland,” an evening of theatrical readings and plays about Lewis Carroll and his creations, on Sunday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. at the Vintage Theatre, in Old Downtown Aurora.
The performance features stories and nonsense poetry from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass,” as well as short plays and adaptations inspired by Alice in Wonderland by local playwrights Bill Thompson and Dave Brandl.
“Our goal for the evening is to travel through the humorous, twisted logic of the two Alice books and make stops along the way with the interesting characters she encounters,” says One Night Stand Theater artistic director James O’Leary. “In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll created a multi-faceted world, and we hope to explore some of the many layers of that world and allow the characters to come to life through the talents of our actors.”
The performance is recommended for adults and children age 10 and older. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students. To make reservations, e-mail tickets@onenightstandtheater.
The LCSNA Spring Meeting is next month!
The Spring Meeting is galumphing towards us! Join us in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from April 19-21, 2013, for a three-day Carrollian carnival. Here’s a taste of what’s in store:
- The world premiere of Dan Singer‘s new play, A Perfect Likeness, about a meeting between Dodgson and Dickens
- Members of the Carolina Chamber Symphony Players performing a concert of Lewis Carroll’s favourite songs
- Talks by a range of Carroll experts from academia and beyond, including Jett Jackson, Mark Richards, Mora O’Neill, and Stephanie Lovett
- A Victorian Choral Evensong service featuring a sermon by Mark Goodacre based on an outline by Rev. Dodgson
- Keepsakes including an updated version of Charlie Lovett’s article “Lewis Carroll and His Hammond Type-Writer,” including a piece of Carrollian verse typed on Carroll’s own typewriter!
All are welcome to attend. For full details of events, accommodations, and meals, please read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the official program (PDF, 445 KB).
Please note the following deadlines:
Friday, March 29: Last day Holiday Inn is guaranteeing our reservations and rates.
Monday, April 1: Last day to confirm special dining arrangements. Please see the official program.
Wednesday, April 10: Last day to register for meeting and pay for meals.
Winston-Salem will be very crowded that weekend with other festivities. We strongly recommend you make plane, rental car, and other arrangements at your earliest convenience.
We hope to see you there!
