Arts & Culture

Yoga, an ancient practice that’s one of the hottest exercise trends of the past decade, has become popular in part because you need no special equipment (except, perhaps, the ubiquitous blue mat), and you can do it anytime, anywhere. But in an art museum? Bending over into downward-facing dog might…

Tim Hart is having a hard time concentrating. He wants to tell me the complex, nasty story of how his Ensemble Theater Company got booted from its performance space — a story rife with bomb threats, infighting, even a Seinfeld connection. But the story isn’t coming easy to Hart, who…

Arizona has mud that even Shout can’t Shout out: 26 years ago, Shout laundry stain remover ran a promotion called “Shout It Out,” in which kids ran an obstacle course in pools of mud to prove Shout’s stain-removing superpower. After realizing they couldn’t get Arizona’s red mud out, even with…

Her name sounds like the answers to a multiple-choice question on a catechism quiz, but the Reverend Doctor Lady Bishop swears she’s all of the above. She is America’s premier voodoo priestess, a messenger of a mélange of disciplines including black magic and Mormonism who’s here, she explains, to “work…

At this very moment, members of the Television Critics Association are gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena, California, to preview this fall’s new series, interview those responsible for them and, finally, gorge themselves silly and drink themselves stupid on the networks’ dwindling dime. This event, the so-called “press tour,” takes…

People in New York and Los Angeles are used to getting the first look at a new play — they open almost daily. But here, where people are lucky to get the opportunity to see an art film before it comes out on DVD, it’s a pretty remarkable event. Phoenix…

Adolescence is plagued with awkward, sometimes terrifying, rites of passage. For author Lizzie Simon, the crucial turning point of her youth occurred during her final year of high school, which she spent studying and living with family friends in Paris. At a time when she was high on life —…

A pal asked last week, “Who you writing about?” Told him, “Art Linson,” which screwed his face into a big ol’ question mark. “He’s a movie producer. He made Heat, Fight Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Untouchables, Car Wash…” Said said friend upon hearing that last one, “Dude…

Give us your tired, your broke, your starving artists yearning to create freely, the wretched refuse of your corporate culture. We’ll show them filmmaker Michael Dean’s new documentary, D.I.Y. or DIE: How to Survive As an Independent Artist, for inspiration. Two dozen underground icons and unknowns are given equal time…

Are you a lonely goatherd? Love brown paper packages tied up with string? Ever looked at a pair of chintz curtains and marveled at the dressmaking potential? If you’re one of the many who fell off the park bench while trying to practice your jeté, then this bastard love child…

I’m the only adult male at the Mason Jar tonight who isn’t wearing a black tee shirt with sawed-off sleeves. My Kenneth Cole polo sweater marks me as a loser, but at least I’m a loser waiting for a former punk goddess to join me for drinks. Lucy LaMode, once…

Phoenix Aviation Director David Krietor appears almost daily in the local news, despite the fact that he rarely says anything worthwhile. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Krietor has mouthed off endlessly about heightened security at Sky Harbor, oozing enthusiasm for the government’s multimillion-dollar plans to protect us from mad…

If you’re searching for vitality in the scorched downtown streets of Phoenix, look no further than the LIFE Festival, a celebration of “Liberty, Independence and Freedom of Expression” at the Icehouse on Thursday, July 4. While the venue is in a prime location to watch the fireworks display overhead, there’s…

Celebrating life in the “Land of the Free” takes on a new meaning with all of the freebie (and almost-free) Independence Day events going on around the Valley. Just don’t forget that in the “Home of the Brave,” you can keep all 10 of your fingers and leave the blow-away…