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ARTS & CULTURE
HOROSCOPES »
WHAT'S YOUR SIGN?
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, NOV.19, 2015
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Find peace and tranquility
over the next two days.
Make time for private rituals.
You're especially sensitive.
Allow for miracles. Beware misunderstandings. Forgive a fool, Meditate in seclusion.
Make plans and weed out impractical ideas. Guard
your health.
get organized. You don't have to do it all. Set meetings. Discuss the plan.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Friends are helpful. Check public opinion today and tomorrow. Accommodate someone's demands. A new scheme occurs to you, but hold on to your money. First,
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Focus to find solutions. A challenge at work occupies you over the next few days.
If the financial situation seems unstable, make adaptations and compromises.
Communication breakdowns could stall the action.
Have a bank in plan.
Cancer (June 21- July 22)
Be prepared to move quickly. Someone's demanding action ... help them see the bigger picture. Educational journeys hold your focus today and tomorrow. Handle practical priorities, and weigh pros and cons before making reservations. Will the trip generate business?
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Manage accounts and review numbers today and tomorrow. What you're learning contradicts what you thought. Don't get stopped by the past. Patiently tend your garden. Guard your resources. Keep your agreements. Work out details with your partner.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Consult a good strategist.
Converse with someone attractive over the next few days. Work with a partner to get farther. Learn how to make your system better.
Let go of a preconception.
Misunderstandings are likely
Listen carefully.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
For the next two days, fulfill promises you've made. Profit from impeccable service.
The details are important.
Use logic and new methods to make life easier. The workload could get intense.
mistakes are part of the learning process.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Relax and enjoy good company over the next few days.
Practice your tricks and play around. Don't forget a get together. Someone may be counting on you. Keep things simple. Lay low with someone cute.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Your home and family require more attention over the next two days.
Keep costs down ... make improvements without great expense. Repurpose something you already have.
Clean, sort and organize.
Play with color and fabrics.
Try mood lighting.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan.19)
Tempers could fray. Carefully choose your words today and tomorrow. Cleverly craft your message. Check plans and directions. Solutions come from far away. In a conflict of interest, avoid antagonizing your elders. Make it easy on yourself.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) The next two days could get extra profitable. Get tools and supplies together. Return communications quickly. Don't spend yet. New information could change your choice. Misunderstandings could prove costly, so take it slow. Consider a spiritual perspective.
Picces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Take charge. You're ready to make changes for the better today and tomorrow. Assertiveness works well now.
Clean up your speech. Postpone financial discussion.
Find ways to cut stress and tension. Ignore nastiness.
Proceed with caution.
Erin Mallon and Starr Busby in "Mammoth."
Alumni's touring ensemble presents 'Mammoth'
BRIANNA CHILDERS
@breeanuhh3
Success is a funny word, said Lara Thomas Ducey, company manager for Buran Theatre, because what success means to one person can mean something completely different for a theater company.
Buran Theatre was created at the University in 2006 while founders Lara Thomas Ducey and Adam Burnett were going to school. Henry Bial, associate dean of the School of Arts, assisted them in founding the theater, which was not officially formed until 2008.
Burnett said the ensemble has between 60 to 80 company members and about 25 percent are KU alumni.
Ducey said she and Burnett started the theater because they loved the University Theatre and were heavily involved in it.
"We kind of wanted to do something on our own, so it was a chance to make new work independent of the structures of the University and see where that took us," Ducey said.
Burnett and Ducey both
graduated from the University in 2008. Burnett earned his degree in theatre and Ducey earned her degrees in theatre, film, and English.
After graduation, the two colleagues went in separate directions; Burnett moved to New York and Ducey moved to Los Angeles.
"I can't get away from the feeling of live per-
the feeling of live performance and being in a space with an audience. ... We are communally breathing and experiencing what is happening on the stage together, and you can't get that in film or TV."
LARA THOMAS DUCEY
While the two were living in separate cities, Buran Theatre continued to grow. Burnett continued to direct new plays, and Ducey said the process has continued to be very familial. While Burnett directs from Los Angeles, the theater is mainly a touring company.
"Everyone who wants to be
[at Buran Theatre] has gravitated towards there because of their desire to be there, not because it's the only place to do work," Ducey said.
While Buran Theatre has had many successes, such as "Nightmares: A Demonstration of the Sublime," Ducey hopes its next play will be the newest success.
"Mammoth," a play written and directed by Burnett, focuses on themes such as emotional loss, extinction, global warming and human condition patterns. The play focuses on two mammoth tusk hunters that discover each other in the wild and go on a journey together that transports them through many different climate variations. Burnett said.
"When writing, I focused more on romantic and intimate loss as a way to tap into the larger issues of how our
Burnett said he felt a play like this wasn't being represented on stage and that people run from topics like climate change. He said he wanted to write a play that tapped into the emotional experience of loss but on a much more intimate and personal level.
world is changing and how we might be a part of that," Burnett said.
As to why Burnett wrote a play about mammoths, he said there is a lot going on with reviving extinct species, and mammoths have been the main focus of that. He finds the idea of bringing back mammoths unfathomable and almost cartoon-like.
"I became obsessed with that and how we project emotions and personalities, not just on animals, but those we are closest to and those we love the most," Burnett said.
Ducey said she hopes the audience walks out feeling strongly about the topics and begins to think about them.
"I don't care if they hated it; hopefully they love it, but I want them to have a strong reaction to what they saw," Ducey said. "Anytime an audience leaves saying, 'Oh, that was nice,' it's kind of like, 'Oh, you didn't feel anything, you didn't expand in some way.'"
Burnett said he has never liked to put too much on audience expectation and what he wants from audience members.
"If anything, it's to take something away from this meditative state and be able to dream about it and hope the language and imagery stays with them," Burnett said. "And a month or two later, [the audience] will be thinking about something and suddenly this play will have meaning."
"Mammoth" is being shown at Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles Nov. 20 and 21 at 8:30 p.m. After the show in Los Angeles, the theatre will take the show to Albuquerque, where it will be performed Dec. 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. The play will make it to Lawrence in January, according to the theater's website.
As for the future of Buran Theatre, Ducey sees it continuing to expand and have more places to perform. She said she wants the theatre to become bi-coastal.
A
"I can't get away from the feeling of live performance and being in a space with an audience," Ducey said. "We are communally breathing and experiencing what is happening on the stage together, and you can't get that in film or T.V."
Edited by Rebecca Dowd
Vristina Haruna Lee and Tina Shepard in "Mammoth."
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO