Category — Jeffrey

Jeff Mermelstein’s story began in Asbury Park, NJ, with a Nikon OneTouch, which was one of the first quality point and shoot cameras. The camera allowed for a “loose, haphazard, energized, free flowing approach” and soon he evolved as a photographer to pursue various types of photography like documentary, photojournalism, color images, and street photography.

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The atomic bomb is easily the most powerful weapon ever developed in all of human history, and now they’ve made an opera about it. Dr. Atomic focuses on the anxiety of all persons involved in the Manhattan Project, one month before the initial test, and the moments leading up to the test.

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You’ve heard the stories – young man goes off to war, comes back with nightmares and post traumatic stress syndrome. Some of these men are doomed to relive the worst of their experiences until the end of time. Others, in some ways, are lucky, and can push their memories, whether consciously or subconsciously, away to the hidden depths of their minds to be untouched for years, maybe even forever.

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What would motivate someone to go to war for their country? How does it feel to be thousands of miles away from home for a cause you don’t fully understand? What’s it like to be tormented by the sounds of battle, unable to escape, for the rest of your life? These are some of the questions that Yvonne Latty managed to answer when she compiled her book of interviews with the same name, which was adapted by Douglas C. Wager into the play.

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The lights dim as the stage retracts to show the orchestra while they immerse the audience in a powerful overture, an amazing moment acknowledged when the orchestra takes a bow at its conclusion. Orchestral showboating aside, the plot begins to advance as the stage creeps back to its original position and a young boy, accompanied by a young girl who seems to be his sister, frolics about the stage before breaking out into a French song reminiscent of a Sesame Street tune atop a coffee table.

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The Holocaust isn’t exactly a new topic, but Irena’s Vow presents it in a unique way that makes it worth seeing. It is essentially a one-man play, albeit the one-man is a woman, with extra actors who serve as props to preserve the audience’s sanity. The play is split roughly between Irena breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience and the audience looking on as if delving into Irena’s dark memories.

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I’m a nerd, I admit it. In my free time I participate on internet forums, read physics and technology blogs, and play video games. I can name all 150 original Pokémon, my favorite TV shows are cartoons, and I’m at least kind of excited about what will come out of the Large Hadron Collider. I’m fluent in leetspeak, I made the third job advancement, and my favorite superheroes are Batman, Iron Man, and The Flash in that order. None of these things, however, are apparent when you first meet me. In fact, you could know me for years and still not learn anything about me. I’m shy around strangers and even in the company of friends I like to stare into space and think about irrelevant topics. I prefer not to volunteer information, but ask and you shall receive, usually.

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