Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution
Happy New Year! In a pocket of Southern Indiana, a group of artists initiates the year by throwing their failed creations onto the pyre. This ritual destruction fans the flames of creativity, as we’ll hear in Annie Corrigan’s report on the Phoenix Bonfire.
As it turns out, fire is restorative for plenty of artists.
“I’m much better in a fire than meditating!” Dana Gould insists. Though he’s well established as a comedy writer, Gould definitely burned out on writing at one point when he wasn’t taking care of his need to do stand-up. So he got back in the hot seat. The writer behind the new IFC show Stan Against Evil, Gould performed December 1st, 2nd and 3rd at The Comedy Attic in Bloomington, Indiana.
After beginning his stand-up career at age 17, the LA-based comic has written for The Simpsons and Parks and Recreation, set in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. He also hosts a podcast called The Dana Gould Hour. Producer Hannah Boomershine caught up with Gould during his Bloomington engagement.
Gould sometimes uses comedy as a vehicle for political discussion. For Deborah Riley Draper, the medium is film. Her documentaries share the perspectives of black American cultural icons who have contributed to shaping American history, often in ways not yet recognized. Draper’s 2016 film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice revealed the story of the 18 African American student athletes who stared down Jim Crow and Hitler to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
During Draper’s visit to the IU Cinema in October, Olympic Pride was shown along with her 2012 documentary, Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution, about the first black models in the world of high fashion. Her visit to IU last fall came on the heels of a visit to the White House with the family members of the 1936 Olympians her new film spotlighted. Listen to a longer conversation with Deborah Riley Draper on Profiles, this Sunday evening at 6 pm on WFIU.
Portraits In Resilience: Titan Of The West & Versailles ’73
Inauguration 2017: Cast On, Carry On, And Keep An Open Mind
From Middle Coast To Middlemaze, With A Little Summer Reading
Endless Summer: 90 Years At Indiana Beach
A Path To That Old Place, And A Way Back Out
Parents Who Rock, Putting Downtown Back In Film, And A Flashmob
Stories On This Episode
Fresh Creativity Arises From The Ashes Of Old Failures
By Annie Corrigan - Jan 20, 2015
The invitation to the Phoenix Bonfire said to bring a failed creation, broken tool, unfinished poem, or similar disappointment to throw into the flames.
While Stan Has Another Go At Evil, Gould Hits The Road
By Hannah Boomershine - Jan 6, 2017
The comic, writer and actor on growing up an outcast and why the role of the comedian just got more important.
