IntroductionIf you’ve ever been inside the McCallister house on the morning of a big family trip, you know one thing for certain:silence is not invited.Suitcases don’t sit quietly.Doors don’t close gently.And the McCallisters — well, they don’t exactly whisper.On this particular December morning, the house erupted long before the sun did.There were missing … [Read more...] about Home Alone Tokyo: The Christmas Heist in Japan
Imagination
Shakespeare Teaches Kids the Magic of Storytelling
Insert Video Introduction My name is Lila Bennett, and I’m one of the Firefly Writers in Mrs. Alvarez’s class.I’ve always liked stories, but sometimes they feel too big for me—like they belong to people who lived a long time ago or people who are smarter or braver than I am.Last week, Mrs. Alvarez said someone very special would be visiting our … [Read more...] about Shakespeare Teaches Kids the Magic of Storytelling
Spirited Away Conversations: Identity, Greed, and Society
Introduction by Hayao Miyazaki When I hear people from so many places—philosophers, writers, activists, even spirits themselves—gathering to speak about Spirited Away, I feel both humbled and curious. I never set out to make a film that could be dissected endlessly. I wanted only to give children, especially girls on the edge of growing up, a story that would … [Read more...] about Spirited Away Conversations: Identity, Greed, and Society
Spirited Away Stage Play: 3 Acts of Chihiro’s Journey
Introduction — by Greta GerwigWhen I first encountered Spirited Away, I was struck not only by its visual brilliance, but by its honesty about what it means to be a child standing at the edge of the unknown. Chihiro begins her journey clinging to wilted flowers and to fear, but she is asked—again and again—to act with courage when courage feels impossible.This … [Read more...] about Spirited Away Stage Play: 3 Acts of Chihiro’s Journey
Proust on Stage: In Search of Lost Time Reimagined
Introduction by the Director When staging Proust, one faces the paradox of time itself: how to dramatize the invisible flow of memory without losing the pulse of theatre. My choice was to treat memory as action, to let light and sound shift with the fluidity of thought. Scenes move quickly — as fast as desire, as sharp as jealousy, as fragile as love. … [Read more...] about Proust on Stage: In Search of Lost Time Reimagined
In Search of Lost Time: A Poetic Study Cycle
Prologue — The Hour Before MemoryTime does not begin in clocks,nor in the pages of history.It begins in the trembling of the heart,in the faint fragrance of a forgotten room,in the sudden warmth of a summer long vanished.We are not born once,but many times —each memory a rebirth,each sensation a thresholdto another self within us.These poems are fragments of that … [Read more...] about In Search of Lost Time: A Poetic Study Cycle
The Journey of Life in Every Color
Prologue — The Canvas of TimeLife begins with a brushstroke.No one hears it, but if you listen closely, there is the sound of color spilling into the world: a quiet hum, like water over stone.The canvas is vast, stretching farther than the horizon, but we are too small at first to see it. The first strokes are soft and blue—so light they almost vanish into the … [Read more...] about The Journey of Life in Every Color
Alice Beyond the Dream: The Lost Third Wonderland Tale
Introduction by Lewis CarrollDear Reader,You may think you know Alice already. Yet what is a dream if not a doorway with more than one key? Here lies the turning of another lock: the adventure beyond both Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land.Do not expect sense alone, for sense is dull; nor nonsense alone, for nonsense is lonely. Prepare instead for the balance … [Read more...] about Alice Beyond the Dream: The Lost Third Wonderland Tale
Staging the Surreal: Directors and Writers on Adapting 1Q84
Introduction by Tony Kushner (Lights low. Kushner steps forward, a script in hand, but he doesn’t read from it. He speaks as though to the actors and directors present, and to the audience beyond them.)When we gather around 1Q84, we aren’t only talking about staging a novel. We are opening a door into a world already leaning at an angle. Haruki has given us … [Read more...] about Staging the Surreal: Directors and Writers on Adapting 1Q84
Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84: A Theatrical Adaptation of Surreal Love
Introduction by Murakami Haruki When I began writing 1Q84, I didn’t set out to create an alternate world. I only wanted to follow the quiet footsteps of a woman descending a staircase, and the inner life of a man rewriting a story. But once I opened the door, the world had already changed.In our lives, the strange often appears without ceremony. You wake up … [Read more...] about Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84: A Theatrical Adaptation of Surreal Love