Elizabeth Blair

'Venus And Serena': An Extraordinary Story, Told On Film

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:58:00 +0000

It's Cinderella plus Jackie Robinson times two. When Venus and Serena Williams burst onto the lily-white world of tennis, they changed the game and made history: They were sisters. From a poor neighborhood. Who brought unprecedented power to the game. And both reached No. 1.

Their journey is the subject of a new documentary called Venus and Serena, showing in select theaters around the country.

"It's not just about sports," says co-director Maiken Baird. "I think of it as the great American story. It's rich with family, sisterhood, race, hard work and tenaciousness."

In D.C., Art Program Turns Boys' Lives Into 'Masterpieces'

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:41:00 +0000

This is the third in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Life Pieces to Masterpieces is an arts program that's not entirely about the art. It's an after-school program based in a struggling neighborhood in Washington, D.C., that teaches black boys and young men what they call "the four C's": "Connect, create, contribute, celebrate." From ages 3-25, they learn to express themselves by conceiving their paintings together. And those paintings will often reflect what's going on in their lives.

Maurice Kie, 26, is a mentor with Life Pieces.

More Than 50 Years Of Putting Kids' Creativity To The Test

Elizabeth Blair — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:37:00 +0000

This is the second in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Let's start with a question from a standardized test: "How would the world be different if we all had a third eye in the back of our heads?"

It's not a typical standardized question, but as part of the Next Generation Creativity Survey, it's used to help measure creativity a bit like an IQ test measures intelligence. And it's not the only creativity test out there.

So why bother measuring creativity?

Creative Classes: An Artful Approach To Improving Performance

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:46:00 +0000

This is the first in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Over the years, there have been a lot of claims about the benefits of the arts on the mind: Listening to Mozart makes you smarter; playing an instrument makes you better at math. One program — funded in part by the federal government — is putting these theories to the test.

Familiar Folks Make Up A Play's 'Good People'

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:48:00 +0000

How we end up in life has a lot to do with where we came from. That theory gets a good workout in the play Good People, from Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire. When the show was on Broadway two years ago, the trade magazine Variety proclaimed that "If Good People isn't a hit, there is no justice in the land."

As it turns out, justice has been served: Good People is the most produced play in America this theatrical season.

In Moscow, Scandals Shake A Storied Ballet

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:58:00 +0000

It's a story right out of the movies: The artistic director of one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world is violently attacked. His attacker and the motive are shrouded in mystery. But behind these sensational headlines is a ballet company that is both legendary and plagued with scandals and infighting.

Last month in Moscow, Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director, was attacked by a masked man who threw acid in his face, causing severe burns and nearly blinding him.

For Super Bowl Ads, More Social-Media Savvy

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:40:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCm9P8naDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmIGTTy8pI0

For Would-Be Sundancers, Kickstarter Can Fuel Films

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:46:00 +0000

If you want to make a movie, you generally need a lot of money. And filmmakers have to be creative about raising it.

Just ask the filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival, taking place this week in Park City, Utah.

Hold On To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants Is Back!

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:20:00 +0000

Let's face it. When you're a kid, sometimes adults can be a real drag. The new Captain Underpants book puts it this way: "Did you ever notice how grown-ups hate it when kids are having fun?"

Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books are all about kids who get in trouble for having mischievous fun. With potty humor, wacky illustrations, and names like Tippy Tinkletrousers and Professor Poopypants, small wonder the books are hugely popular. Every book in the series has made it to USA Today's best-seller list.

World War II Exhibit Asks Visitors, 'What Would You Do?'

Elizabeth Blair — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:34:00 +0000

For many, the stakes and the scale of World War II are hard to fathom. It was a war fought around the world, against powerful, determined regimes in Europe and the Pacific; some 65 million people died.

Remembering Fontella Bass, Voice Of A Soul Classic

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The voice of a great soul classic has died. Fontella Bass sang the 1965 hit "Rescue Me." She was 72 years old and died from complications caused by a recent heart attack. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: It's a perfect song with a perfect voice.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESCUE ME")

FONTELLA BASS: (Singing) Rescue me. Take me in your arms. Rescue me. I love your tender charms. I'm rather lonely and I'm blue. I need you and your love, too.

Beyond 'Downton': BBC Imports That Got Away

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:51:00 +0000

There was so much great stuff in arts and entertainment this year that we just couldn't report on all of it as it was happening. So we're playing a little catch-up on the ones that got by us.

In 2012, the BBC delivered some thrilling new TV dramas to its two primary outlets in the U.S.: PBS, which has been programming its shows for decades, and the cable channel BBC America.

First BBC America: One of its best shows is The Hour, a slick production set in the 1950s; think Mad Men meets Broadcast News.

Etsy Crafts A Strategy For Staying Handmade And Profitable

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Etsy has gotten very big, very fast. This year, sales are at about $800 million.

"Their growth on all the major metrics you want to look at has accelerated really consistently," says journalist Rob Walker.

Walker recently wrote a story for Wired Magazine with the headline, "Can Etsy Go Pro Without Losing Its Soul?" Here's why: Etsy makes money from its sellers: 20 cents every time they list an item and 3.5 percent of every sale.

Hispanics Call For Kennedy Center Honors

Elizabeth Blair — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 10:43:00 +0000

This weekend, some big names are coming to Washington for a red-carpet event. Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, blues guitarist Buddy Guy and the British rock band Led Zeppelin will be receiving the annual Kennedy Center Honors.

It's a prestigious award given to only a handful of performers each year. But over the past few months there's been controversy surrounding the awards.

The NFL's New Target Demographic: Kids

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:04:00 +0000

When the NFL wants to make a play for a particular demographic, they go long. To attract Latinos, it forged partnerships with Univision and Telemundo. To keep women happy, it came out with a clothing line featuring shirts that actually fit better than those boxy jerseys.

Now, to engage children, the NFL is going where kids go: Nickelodeon.