Astrid Hiemer
Bio:
A cultural critic and writer, Astrid grew up after WW II in Hamburg, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in the 1960s. She was formerly the assistant director (Administrative Officer) of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT under Otto Piene, with whom she has worked in the past several years editing, translating, and researching for a major book about his life and career. While at The Center she knew and worked with many multi-media artists. In addition to professional work as an editor and translator she is also a poet, and writer of fiction. Most of her written work is accompanied by her own photographs.
Recent Articles:
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The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard Front Page
Notable South African Playwright
By: - Jan 23rd, 2018Esteemed South African playwright and novelist, Athol Fugard is noted for plays such as Master Harold…and the Boys, “Blood Knot, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, and the novel made into a movie, Tsotsi. Although Road to Mecca ultimately reached Broadway, the spotty production history of this powerful play is inexplicable, as in the right hands, it is a penetrating drama.
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Shakespeare & Company 2018 Front Page
Conflating Old and New
By: - Jan 23rd, 2018Shakespeare & Company announces its 2018 summer season. Exploring themes of Delight, Deceit, and Desire, the season includes three Shakespeare plays: Macbeth, As You Like It, and Love's Labor's Lost; plus the New England Premiere of Morning After Grace by Carey Crim; Creditors by August Strindberg adapted by David Greig; Heisenberg by Laurence Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens; Mothers and Sons by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally; and HIR by Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac.
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Diane Kruger Star of In the Fade Front Page
Award Winning German Actress in Thriller
By: - Jan 22nd, 2018Germany has become a perennial contender for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Once again, its industry is competing for another win with the emotion-packed thriller “In the Fade”, starring Diane Kruger. She won as Best Actress at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
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Five Mile Lake by Rachel Bonds Front Page
By Chicago's Shattered Globe Theatre
By: - Jan 22nd, 2018In Five Mile Lake, playwright Rachel Bonds tells the story of five young people and the small Pennsylvania town where they have connections. They portras their dreams and despair sympathetically, in amusing, sometimes eloquent conversations.
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Linda Reiter as Rose Kennedy Front Page
Tribute to Matriach of Political Dynasty
By: - Jan 22nd, 2018Linda Reiter creates a vivid replica of Mrs. Kennedy’s appearance and manner in Rose, the one-woman show written by Laurence Leamer and directed by Steve Scott.
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Our Great Tchaikovsky by Hershey Felder Front Page
At TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
By: - Jan 22nd, 2018The inimitable Hershey Felder has carved a special niche in theater as a portrayer of great music composers. In his solo performances, he adeptly characterizes a composer and deftly performs his compositions on a grand piano.
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Uma Thurman's Flawed Broadway Review Front Page
The Parisian Woman Ripped from DC Headlines
By: - Jan 22nd, 2018The Parisian Woman is not a great play and Thurman’s performance is lacking, BUT (and this is a big but), I had a thoroughly enjoyable time seeing it.
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March Madness Word
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Stowe Storm Word
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Peak Experience Word
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Stowe Birds Word
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Udder Madness Word
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Tourist Trapp Word
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Stowe Away Word
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Horseshoe Crabs Front Page
Dying Living Fossils
By: - Dec 13th, 2017An intimate photo-series about Horseshoe Crabs, washed ashore, and a short essay in poetry form highlight our wold-wide situation, known as 'Climate Change,' and its consequences.
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The Roads of North America - Part 6 Front Page
San Francisco Bay and Sausalito Houseboats
By: - Sep 14th, 2017This is our second article from the San Francisco area and continuation of The Roads of North America. More than 50 photographs accompany this report. The views along the Bay and other discoveries are well worth seeing - no doubt!
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Centerbeam at ZKM/Karlsruhe, Germany Front Page
Exhibition and Symposium until October 1st
By: - Aug 11th, 2017The exhibition to celebrate 'Centerbeam’s' 40 th anniversary has been open since mid May in Karlsruhe. On September 2nd ZKM will host ten representatives of the original participants on location or via skype. The symposium should deliver lively discussions of the past and perhaps a way forward to recreate 'Centerbeam,' a third time, in the near future.
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The Roads of North America – Part 5 Front Page
Sketch: Cruising the Golden Gate Bridge
By: - Jul 19th, 2017Picking up this series after some time, we are continuing with reports about our travels in North America. We flew to San Francisco to attend a theater conference and to discover the city once again, followed by visits to Muir Woods and California’s wine country. There will be other sketches drawn from different locations and events. Here my personal photo-perspective of the Golden Gate Bridge, arguably the most famous bridge in the USA.
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Centerbeam of CAVS/MIT Reintroduced at ZKM Front Page
40 Years Post documenta 6 at Kassel, Germany
By: - Jun 03rd, 2017The exhibition: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of 'Centerbeam,' A Performative Sculpture by CAVS, can be seen at ZKM, Karlsruhe/Germany, until October 1st. The museum is also presenting in an adjacent gallery Aldo Tambellini’s, 'Black Matters.' He was one of the 21 artists, who participated in the spectacular, collaborative and participatory outdoor sculpture.
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WOW at Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mssachusetts Front Page
What a World of Wearable Art
By: - May 10th, 2017A recommendation for the Peabody Essex Museum to see particularly the special exhibition 'WOW' came in an understated manner, or I just did not pick up quickly enough what a delight the show would represent. We drove to Salem from Gloucester, where we were visiting, on a rainy and miserable afternoon and that made our day!
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Cape Cod - After the Storm Front Page
Total Fog at Ocean's Edge
By: - Apr 22nd, 2017While spending time near an Ocean in the USA or Europe, as well as Africa, I have always been drawn to the beach after a storm, while rough weather and high waves were still present. So did I venture recently onto a beach in North Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in stormy weather and took these accompanying photographs.
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Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin: Winterreise Front Page
'Trip in Winter' by New Group: Exil
By: - Apr 11th, 2017The Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin continues to present issues that reflect the 'now and how' of living circumstances in present day Berlin. The newly founded theatre group Exil will be part of the Gorki ensemble for two years, where it will create theatre events in dialogue with their own sensibilities. 'Winterreise' (Trip in Winter) on April 8th, by the in-house Israeli director Yael Ronen, presented the first project with seven actors and actresses, who cannot perform in their home countries of Syria, Palestine and Afghanistan.
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67th Berlinale, 2017 Front Page
Feb 9-19, Berlin, Germany
By: - Feb 21st, 2017This year's Berlinale from February 9 - 19, 2017, started with high expectations and ended in a lukewarm acceptance of choices the international jury of seven presented at the Berlinale Palace on February 18. Although the jury made their selections only from the 18 submissions for the big prizes - the Golden Bear and seven Silver Bears in the Competition - it is this section that counts. The Competition is the heart and center of this huge international film festival that also turns every year into a film-viewing orgy for around 4000 critics as well as for a huge number of highly motivated moviegoers.
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National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC Front Page
A Visual Journey Through History
By: - Dec 18th, 2016President Barack Obama officially opened the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016, on the Washington Mall. It is actually the 19th Smithsonian Museum. My daughter Olivia and I got up early on a December day, to stand in line for one of the circa 100 free daily tickets. Otherwise, tickets can be reserved online months in advance. The short text and extensive photo essay convey our experiences.
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Foreign Affairs 2016 in Berlin, Germany Front Page
A Commentary
By: - Aug 01st, 2016"Foreign Affairs," the international performing arts festival at the Berliner Festspiele is history, literally. This year's festival was the last one of its five-year run. The last three years were under the artistic leadership of Matthias von Hartz and brought ever-expanding public involvement and an increasingly frenetic search for innovative alternatives to theater practices at large. Here is an overview and musings about the final festival as named.
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