Early camera flash technology was complicated and messy. By the end of the 19th century, photographers were igniting magnesium powder in a flat pan to illuminate shots. But noise and choking smoke made the method unsuitable in many situations, and not easily portable.... Read more

Where can you witness top chefs competing in a campfire cook-off and take a workshop on making s’mores? These are just a few of the items on the menu at the Adirondack Museum’s second annual the Adirondacks Are Cookin’ Out event this Thursday. Activities at the daylong festival cater both to foodies and families. Demos, walks, talks and hands-on workshops run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.... Read more

Severe flooding got summer off to a rough start in the Champlain Islands. But a countywide community art project has provided a bright counterpoint to the season’s early gloom. Sixteen colorful benches, hand painted by local artists, are on display throughout Grand Isle County as part of the Lake Champlain Islands Chamber of Commerce’s “Take a Seat in the Islands” event.... Read more

The growing popularity of the annual Blackfly Festival is one reason Vermonters ask, “How do you get there from here?” about the tiny, unincorporated village of Adamant. And, for nearly 70 summers, music connoisseurs have quietly found their way to the central Vermont hamlet to enjoy classical concerts from piano students and world-renowned teachers at the Adamant Music School.... Read more

Romanticizing militarism helps a nation justify conquering other sovereign powers. In the late 19th century, as the British Empire stretched across the globe, Victorian society celebrated the heroic nature of war. Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), however, did not. The title of Arms and the Man (1894) comes from the opening line of the Aeneid, Virgil’s epic about the founding of Rome. While Virgil’s poem lauds martial life, Shaw’s play mocks it.... Read more

Irish-born playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) employed an acid-dipped pen to analyze society. In proper, prosperous Victorian England, he rejected what he called “romantic commonplaces of the stage” to tackle issues such as class and gender inequality. For the published editions of Shaw’s plays, he often wrote impassioned introductions that explained the political theory behind his theater.... Read more

Adapting a beloved literary classic for the theater presents many challenges. How does the unlimited scope of the novelist’s imaginative world translate into two hours of dialogue on a rectangular stage? When theatergoers already know the plot, how can the script create fresh tension? Tampering with cherished characters who already live in readers’ hearts and minds risks alienating audience members.... Read more

It’s easy to understand why animal owners anthropomorphize their pooches and pussycats. Attributing human characteristics to animal behavior makes sense if you value hard-to-find qualities such as loyalty and unconditional love. Pets make better people than many people do.... Read more

Good plays that became lousy movies make up a small corner of cinematic history’s “well-intentioned flops” section. The failure of these stage gems to translate to the silver screen testifies to theater’s unique power to communicate certain stories.... Read more

What makes a play compelling theater — engaging the audience with a great story, or amazing them with clever stagecraft? Call me old-fashioned, but I’m more captivated by the well-told tale. Great storytelling is not at the heart of British playwright Neil Bartlett’s 2004 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Dickens (1812-70) created some of the most memorable fiction since cavemen first spun fireside yarns about the Big Woolly Mammoth That Got Away.... Read more