It’s the start of a new year. The brief reflective period when we pause, if only for a few moments, for an exercise in introspection. Contemplation of the year past. Ambitions for the months to come. Even if things are good, we imagine how they can be better. How we can be better. Yes, January is a wonderful, fleeting, hopeful month…
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The Second City’s ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’ Slays Phoenix Theatre
It starts with a song.
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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It starts with a song.
An irreverent and discourteous song. And anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for a waggish song. This one happens to be about our social malaise and the fronts we all begrudgingly present to each other. Golden! So I was buttered up from the outset…
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DoomsDay Does Drag in December: A Review
I began attending drag shows this past year part-time, but outside of taking photos and drunkenly enjoying the also-intoxicated antics of acts like Lady Christian, I felt like I couldn’t miss the opportunity to cover the December 18th DoomsDay in December w/ Doom Family event hosted by The Queer Agenda and featuring Arizona drag staple, Carnita Asada…
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Catch the Holiday Spirit with Valley Youth Theatre’s ‘A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail’
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Much of theatre is about moments. Moments that touch us and stay with us. Sometimes it’s an impactful scene, a performance so good it lingers, a note so arresting it haunts. And sometimes it’s the moment when when a young person in our life gets bitten by the theatre bug, as we once did, and we know there is no going back…
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Dustin Loehr Seeks To Empower Arts Education In Arizona
by Jacob Unterreiner
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Arts education programs are important.
Arts education programs serve students better when they are well-funded.
Arts education programs are consistently under-funded…
‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Tackles Mental Illness, Social Media, and the Insecurity In Us All
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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I’ve read the script to Dear Evan Hansen. Listened to the cast album so frequently I know nearly every lyric. I’ve seen several videos and cast performances on YouTube and broadcast television. In other words, I went in ‘knowing’ the show. Feeling like I had a grasp on what to expect. Turns out, I knew nothing…
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‘Elf: The Musical’ Delivers Heartwarming Fun at Phoenix Theatre
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Elf: The Musical is a show based on the much-loved 2003 film, a movie that has become a holiday staple in countless households. A quotable and beloved cult classic, both film and musical alike are built on pure, adorable, laugh out loud comedy…
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Art Biz: Personhood and Persona in the Age of Social Media
by Carly Schorman
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Let’s begin with just a little clarification on the terminology.
Personhood is the condition of being an individual person. Persona is the part of yourself that you present to others. Now, I’m sure many of you are already drawing conclusions about where this post is going, and maybe you are right. But, if you’re an active internet user, this is conversation you should be having with yourself every single day…
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Support the Businesses that Support the Arts!!
After years of treating YabYum as a “labor of love,” you may have noticed that we opened the site up to advertisers this year. But, as with all things here, we seek to maintain an ethical standard in all that we do. Rather than opening our sponsorship to third-party sales, we opted to partner with local and independent business owners that we believe in supporting…
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YabYum Seven: James Anthony Peters
James Anthony Peters answers the YabYum Seven!
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YabYum Seven: Tommy Cannon
Who are you and what do you do?
I am Tommy Cannon and I’m a cartoonist. I also do more live comedy shows than decent humans would allow themselves to do. I created the cartoon characters Fred the Mustard Packet and Dr. Zombie. I’m also on the art crew for Philip “The Room’s Denny” Haldiman’s autobiographical comic My Big Break…
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Now & Then Creative Company Takes On French Avant-Garde Classic ‘Rhinoceros’
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Now & Then Creative Company is currently taking on a classic. Rhinoceros is play by Eugène Ionesco, a powerhouse in the French avant-garde theatre movement of the twentieth century. The themes and underpinnings of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros are debated, even to this day…
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