It’s taco night and I am learning about my subculture’s very specific way of eating. Lesson one: If there is a lite, low-fat, fat-free, calorie-free, or diet option, always buy that over any other version of a product.

I remember somewhere—probably a History Channel special—learning that the food a culture consumes can tell you a lot about its people. When you think about it, you really can tell a lot about the values and history of a group of people based on their food choices—what they choose to consume and what they omit from their diet. So what does this diet say about my friends and community?

Despite being a theatre major, I didn’t have that many close gay friends when I first came out. I ran with rag tag crew of theatre majors that ranged from low key hipsters to Greek life artists, so we ate pizza from a place around the corner from the fine arts building, pasta with red sauce, whatever was offered up at the dining hall, and splurged on the occasional organic feast from the hot bar at our local food co-op. My freshman and sophomore year food values could be summarized as cheap, convenient, tasty, and comforting. Junior year was my transition to vegetarianism: social and ecological responsibility became a major factor in what I ate. Then over the summer before senior year, I found my gays.

I finally had a strong group of gay guy friends. They were nerdy and liked video games, but loved going out and dancing too. We enjoyed debating politics as much as we did pop culture. For the first time since graduating high school, I was part of a circle of friends that was not founded on working together as theatre majors. And those different circles of friends had different relationships with food. Senior year became more about vodka and calorie free mixers than my beloved craft beers. A whole new factor entered into the way I evaluated my grocery store purchases: calories. I didn’t want to lose weight—if anything I was trying to add some muscle to my frame. But when I knew I would be eating with my new friends, I knew that those things were important. And with at least one night every other weekend becoming a group prepared meal, I found these values creeping into the way I ate.

I am still not sure exactly what this way of eating means. An overreaction to the demand for perfect bodies gay men make of each other is most certainly part of it. But if I had to guess, I would say that 95% of my friends in this network would see very little change if they started eating like I did freshman or junior year. Perhaps it’s some paranoia about our youthful metabolic rates prematurely abandoning us overnight that leads us to our strict adherence to this dietary obsession with all things diet. I know that’s what the voice in my head says that makes me continue to reach for the calorie-free cranberry juice over its calorie-full cousin.

~ Cameron Huppertz, Literary Assistant

I am a self-proclaimed foodie to my core.

The dictionary defines a foodie as, “a person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking.” Some might even call these people “gourmands” or “epicures” or “gourmets,” but I find all of these terms a) a little snobby, b) a little outdated, and c) not an accurate term to describe my relationship to food. I’d much rather go by the definition at *Slashfood:

“To be a foodie is not only to like food, but to be interested in it. Just as a good student will have a thirst for knowledge, a foodie wants to learn about food. A foodie will never answer the question What are you eating with I don’t know. There are some basic traits of being a foodie, as there are basic traits that come with all labels. Generally, you have to know what you like, why you like it, recognize why some foods are better than others and want to have good tasting food all or certainly most of the time. This doesn’t mean that you can’t eat flaming hot Cheetos every now and again, but it does mean that you don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s a nutritionally balanced meal. Do you have to know the difference between a beefsteak tomato and an heirloom tomato? No, but you might be interested to find out what it is. Do you have to only shop at farmer’s markets? No, but you still look for good, fresh produce. Are there some foods you just don’t like or weird foods you like? That’s ok – it doesn’t make you any less of a foodie. Just like food, learn about food and, most importantly, eat food.”

*The bloggers there now live at HUFFPOST FOOD.

For me, eating is an activity that spans from tasting in the kitchen to my parents and I coming together for three meals a day (yes—most of the time, all three.) Growing up in the age of corporate moms and dads, I found out that it was a rare occasion that families could gather together and participate in food in the way that my family was dedicated to doing. To my Dad (the French Chef in the family,) eating and cooking are moments where he and I could bond, where my whole family can sit down and appreciate a meal together.

In Civilization (all you can eat) almost every scene involves food in some way—but not all to signal the coming together of families. The metaphor of “the table” can come to mean any number of things: a place where decisions are made, a place of comfort, a place of community. For me, the table is a place of comfort, a symbol of personal value, and a touchstone of family memory. For all of these reasons and more, I am a foodie.

In my opinion, the easiest way to be a foodie is to peruse the never-ending list of Foodie Blogs on the interwebs. I’ve done a quick round-up of some great local bloggers who are itching to talk about what DC has to serve up:

1. Washington City Paper’s YOUNG AND HUNGRY

The folks over at Young & Hungry do a great job of collecting all of the DC food-centric events and putting them in one place, as well as keeping us abreast of the restaurant news in the District.

2. D.C. Foodies

This food blog is adventure focused, talking about anything from restaurant experiences to specific food recipes and taste pairings. They pretty accurately describe themselves: “Here you’ll find information about restaurants, food or wine events, wine reviews, cheese, cooking and recipes, farmers’ markets, and the list grows every day.”

3. Dining in DC – Food and Restaurant Blog

Lisa Shapiro, aside from being an extremely accomplished food journalist, has created a blog specifically for folks who are looking to dine out in DC. “Dining in DC is a blog about the DC Metropolitan area restaurant scene. The blog includes Dining reviews, Tips for diners, Food & Restaurant news and trends, Restaurant Events including festivals, openings, and closings, Chef Interviews — just about everything related to dining out in the DC area.”

4. Metrocurean

Hailed as an “expert in the DC food scene” by NPR, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Traveler, and FoxNews.com, Amanda McClements possesses a desire to educate and inform food lovers about what and how DC eats.

5. eat Washington

Julia Watson has a habit for finding food treasures in DC and then sharing her finds with as many people as she can reach. Divided up by regional cuisines (or in traditional blog-roll style) you can comb through DC’s best restaurant, food, and market finds—both familiar and unfamiliar.

Happy eating!

~ Melanie Harker, Connectivity Assistant

If you’ve been following along on Twitter and Facebook (which um you should be!) you know we’re holding a “Civilization Smackdown” during the run of Civilization (all you can eat) to find out what is the “greatest civilization ever.” We’ve asked experts (and non-experts) from across DC, and we finally have the list of the competitors!

You can vote for your favorites live in our lobby during the run of the show or via Twitter (#WoollyCIV) or Facebook to determine which civilizations advance to the next round. Fill out a bracket à la NCAA March Madness with your top picks to predict which one will make the championship. Accurately predict the winner and receive a free Woolly flex pass!

Thanks everyone for your nominations, here are the competitors:

• Ancient Mayans
• The United States of America
• Ancient Rome
• Ancient Egypt
• Harry Potter’s World
• Abbasid Caliphate
• Facebook
• The Ming Dynasty
• Dutch Golden Age
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elves
• The Majapahit (1300′s Indonesia)
• Disney World
• Apple Inc.
• Atlantis
• Sumer
• The Vogons (From Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
• Yorubaland
• Twitter
• Azeroth (From World of Warcraft)
• Portland, Oregon
• Red Sox Nation
• Napoleon’s Empire
• Voltaire’s El Dorado
• Iron Age Ireland
• The American South
• Canada
• Mohicans
• Appalachia
• The Amish
• No Civilization! (Hunter-Gatherers)
• Modern Mexico
• Flatland

And here are the first round match ups:

• Ancient Mayans vs. The Amish
• Apple vs. Yorubaland
• Dutch Golden Age vs. Red Sox Nation
• Harry Potter’s World vs. The American South
• USA vs. Hunter-gatherers
• Atlantis vs. Twitter
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elves vs. Napoleon’s Empire
• Canada vs. Abbasid Caliphate
• Ancient Rome vs. Modern Mexico
• Sumer vs. Azeroth (From World of Warcraft)
• The Majapahit (1300′s Indonesia) vs. Voltaire’s El Dorado
• Facebook vs. Mohicans
• Ancient Egyptians vs. Flatland
• The Vogons (From Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) vs. Portlandia
• Disney World vs. Iron Age Ireland
• The Ming Dynasty vs. Appalachia

Stay tuned, we’ll have a bracket that you can fill out shortly and submit to us. Let us know your picks!

~ Brooke Miller, Press and Digital Content Manager

I’m not strict about my vegetables coming into contact with meat. I even give into the occasional meat craving from time to time. As Woolly Mammoth gets ready for Jason Grote’s Civilization (all you can eat) I find myself reflecting on my own relationship with food. How something as simple as eating, something rooted in our most basic biological functions, becomes increasingly complex as we begin to interact with others.

I, of course, am not the only person in the Woolly office to make the decision to abstain from meat, nor are us veggie/vegans the only people actively deciding to eat differently than the average American consumer. So I thought the approaching opening of Civilization would be a good opportunity to get some of my co-workers’ food stories.

Interview with Rachel Dutcher, Development Manager, Annual Giving

Cameron Huppertz: What term do you use to describe your diet?
Rachel Dutcher: Mostly vegan
CH: When did you start eating vegan?
RD: About four years ago
CH: What motivated that decision?
RD: Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating. Once you know, you don’t go back…
CH: What is the craziest thing some has said to you about your food choices?
RD: Some of my less adventurous family members have asked, “So if you don’t eat meat, eggs, or dairy, then what DO you eat?” To which I responded: “Everything else.” The obvious answer, of course.

Interview with Doug Eacho, Assistant to the Artistic Director and Assistant Dramaturg on Civilization (all you can eat)

Cameron Huppertz:  What term do you use to describe your diet?
Doug Eacho: Vegetarian, though I wish I had a better term. More accurately, ‘A person who does not eat factory-farmed meat and is also poor and thus is a de-facto vegetarian.’ I eat some fish, but (a) rarely, and (b) not most fish—I’ve researched which fish are OK and which are not, and stay pretty strict about that. So ‘pescetarian’ seems more liberal than I actually am. THUS, after some deliberation, I say I am a ‘vegetarian,’ with confidence that our culture knows that this is a slightly fuzzy word.
CH: When did you start eating veggie?
DE: This past July.
CH: What motivated that decision?
DE: Many things. Specifically, the fact that I was moving to a new city/job, and was making a lot of life changes, so it seemed like an excellent time to transform my eating habits. More broadly, like everyone, I know the countless moral reasons to avoid meat: the extreme cruelty of factory farms towards animals, towards the farms’ own workers, the damaging effects of meat’s antibiotics and hormones on public health, mass pollution, the centralized corporatization of food production and distribution, a gross misunderstanding of the way in which humanity should relate to the Earth. I am fundamentally OK with eating animals, but very much not OK with the way we do it. But I knew those reasons for a while before I converted. You can know the right thing to do without doing it; I think this is the state of nearly all meat-eaters in today’s America. I eventually realized that making a firm moral choice—a very public one, that as a form of protest is actually having success in transforming the way Americans eat—is itself an exciting statement, a way to demonstrate the power of the individual will against the black hole of neoliberal culture.
CH: Do you ever break your own rules, and if so for what?
DE: Well, if you regularly break rules, you’re not really breaking your rules, just changing them, right? I am much more lenient in Europe, where the meat production is much more localized, organic, and humane. I also think eating meat on holidays is deeply culturally significant and worth doing: eating the flesh of another as a way to celebrate turnings of time and spinning of planets.

~Cameron Huppertz, Literary Assistant

It’s the American Dream to be a sellout.

Urban Dictionary included this example in one of its definitions of “sell out.” I decided to explore it a little more.

This American Dream doesn’t quite fit the original, but if you think about it in terms of getting the mansion with all its accessories, most people would go to any lengths to get there. In Civilization (all you can eat), there are a number of characters who are trying to make it in a competitive and unforgiving business world. They all make sacrifices, some more of a detriment than others, to attain the American Dream in the big pig Capitalist world.

How far would you go to achieve the new American Dream? Would you go far enough to sell out?

Here are some big examples of those that may have lost sight of their artistic dreams. Now these might not be people we all dream of growing up to be, but most yearn for their celebrity status.

For an explanation on this one and other examples, read this article on the 7 biggest celebrity sell outs of all time.

This one should be easy. They already have an all-expenses paid life thanks to their macho husbands, and they flaunt it on national television for about $250,000 a season.

Ricky Gervais knows he’s worth more than the Golden Globes, and he might start accepting the big gigs he’s turned down just for fortune. Is he selling out?

Nelly is considered a sell out by some who think he has left his real roots for urban hip hop.

There are those that choose not to sell out though. They work hard and achieve success on their own terms. Like Mark Zuckerberg:

and

Steve Jobs, who admitted he admires Mark Zuckerberg for not selling out.

BUT (and I hate to disagree with a guy who really achieved the American Dream), selling out just might be the new way to achieve the almighty American dream.

~ Noel Edwards, Marketing and Communications Assistant

Something borderline offensive? So ridiculous you want to buy the product? Anything involving really cute kids or hot men (hey Ryan Gosling)?

There’s a hilarious scene in our upcoming show Civilization (all you can eat) that involves a TV commercial with some similar qualities to viral videos we are familiar with.

In that spirit I decided to have some fun in social media-land today and will be posting some of my favorite viral videos and Internet memes from Woolly’s Twitter account, so be sure to follow along and send us your favorites!

Here are my choices:

David After Dentist

Falling under the “cute kids” category, I’ve always loved this video of a seven-year-old boy who has a funny reaction after dental surgery. “Is this real life?”

Charlie Bit Me

Another classic “cute kids” one. Not sure I can add any other commentary here, just watch it.

Old Spice Guy

This is one that’s similar to Civilization in that it started as an advertising campaign and quickly went viral afterwards, propelling Isaiah Mustafa to fame as “The man your man could smell like.”

Potter Puppet Pals

For all the Harry Potter fans out there, the “Mysterious Ticking Noise.”

Shake Weight

Claims to help women tone their arms in actions that appear notoriously sexual…

LoLCats

Moving into the Internet memes category: “I can haz cheezburger?”

Hungover Owls

A favorite in the Woolly office for “mornings after”…I mean no this never happens to us…

Ryan Gosling Tumblrs

There’s pretty much a Ryan Gosling Tumblr for just about every group of people or occupation. Some samplings: Silicon Valley Ryan Gosling, Hey Girl Happy Hanukkah, Is Ryan Gosling Cuter than a Puppy, and of course my favorite: Ryan Gosling Arts Administrator.

Shit ___ Says

The videos that have taken off recently…if you don’t know what I’m talking about you’ve been living under a rock. Like Ryan Gosling, almost every group of people is stereotyped in these videos, which have now been expanded to cities with the brilliant Shit DC Says.

And last but not least my all time favorite:

THE SNUGGIE!!!!

I think the first time I saw this infomercial I was actually sitting on my couch in the middle of winter and knew I needed one of these. A BLANKET WITH SLEEVES! My family currently owns five of them, one for each of us. We’re sick I know…

Happy Friday! Remember to send us your favorites!

~ Brooke Miller, Press and Digital Content Manager

Over the past two years, I’ve had four visits to see theatre in Eastern Europe, where directors dominate the scene with their aggressive and highly conceptual approaches to both classics and new work. After soaking in this inspiration, I was looking for a script that was open-ended enough to let me and my collaborators really invent!

CIVILIZATION is especially timely in relation to the election season that’s now heating up. The play looks back at our previous Presidential election cycle: the summer of 2008, just as the financial crisis was unraveling and Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain’s running mate in the race against Barack Obama. In a series of vivid character portraits, playwright Jason Grote captures the nation’s mounting anxiety about questions of race, about “making it” in a hostile economic environment, and about the sustainability of American capitalism.

Lurking in the background is that talking pig I mentioned above—named Big Hog and played in inimitable fashion by Sarah Marshall. Trapped on a mechanized pig farm with slaughter fast approaching, Big Hog opens the play by threatening the audience with his plan for escape and revenge. When I first read his fiery speech nearly two years ago, I knew that Woolly couldn’t resist producing this play. As the story moves along, Big Hog’s intensity is matched by the emotional desperation of all the characters, including an aspiring filmmaker and two actors, an inspirational business consultant, and a struggling waitress and her 21-year-old daughter. I love them all for their naked longing and raw striving for a better life than the ones they have.

Jason Grote invokes filmmaker Robert Altman when describing the structure of CIVILIZATION. Like Nashville, Short Cuts, or Gosford Park, the play begins with a series of apparently disconnected scenes, and only gradually reveals the web that binds its characters together. Our production will accentuate this structure by presenting a series of “parades” that move from scene to scene. Some of the parades will expand into abstract dance episodes called for by the playwright that provide a thematic lens on the main action—or at least I think that’s what happens, depending on what we learn in rehearsals. Our process so far on CIVILIZATION has been the fullest in Woolly’s history, involving workshops in New York and Washington, and a whole course based on the play with Masters students at Towson University. But once rehearsals begin and our brilliant cast gets to work, anything could change.

That’s why I love open-ended plays like CIVILIZATION. They’re a bit scary, but ultimately exhilarating. I look forward to sharing the results of our investigation with you, and hearing your reactions to Jason Grote’s provocative parade of humans, beasts, and the ongoing project we call America.

~Howard Shalwitz, Artistic Director

The tides then change.

What unravels (in tornado-esque fashion) is an in-depth look at racial tensions in Chicago; Cubs versus White Sox, North-side versus South-side, White versus Black. To me, the most fascinating part of all of this is a topic that is so volatile and so taboo in casual conversation can be the base for some of the funniest comedy scenes. (And let me tell you—between Bliden’s nerdy-white-guy awkwardness, Montgomery’s blundering ignorant comments, and Turner’s impression of Montgomery—this scene is tears in your eyes hilarious.)

It’s pretty easy to think of examples of comedians who use their race as fodder for material. Dave Chappelle had “Negrodamus,” Russell Peters uses his Indian heritage and cultural accents to illustrate his acts, and George Lopez has (had?) his self-titled sitcom. All Things Considered host Michele Norris, in an NPR piece about Comedy and Race in America, comments that “…in the world of stand-up comedy, the subject of race is not so much a minefield, but rather a goldmine… because comedy provides a comfort zone to discuss uncomfortable topics–a place where audiences can laugh at themselves and look past pain to acknowledge unvarnished truth.”

Much like in the second act of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park that we had running this past August, comedy can be a really excellent vehicle to spark conversation about racial tensions when audiences of all races would be more hesitant to do so. While I agree that laughing past the pain can help dig deeper towards the truth, I think that the conversations that should follow (and did in the case of Clybourne Park,) don’t happen nearly often enough.

“I know what you’re thinking,” says Alfred near the start of the show. “How’d that black guy get from all the way over there, to over here? The answer is that… all black guys—all black people are magic.”

So why is that so funny? Or so not funny?

~Melanie Harker, Connectivity Assistant

I believe that everything happens for a reason, but is that the same thing as fate? Is it fate that I lose my wallet and someone recovers it on my birthday? Or is that just stupid luck? Was it my fate to write this blog post? Hmm…

This time of year we are all filled with gratitude and thanking our lucky stars. Here are a couple of feel-good stories that might make you a believer:

• On September 11, 2001, people working in the Pentagon watched televised coverage of the Twin Towers. After watching for some time, a naval officer Frank Thorp IV ordered his team to get back to work: “I came to realize, ‘Hey, we’ve got this big project due.’ So I said, ‘Hey, everybody, let’s get back to work.” But then he suddenly changed his mind. “For the first time in my life, I said, ‘But first, let’s all go get a cup of coffee together.’ To this day, I have no idea why I did that. All of us got up, walked out of the Pentagon or walked out of the office, walked down the hallway, and the plane hit about a tractor-trailer’s length away from my office.” You can read the whole story here.

• Identical twins Adriana Scott and Tamara Rabi were separated at birth in Mexico. At 20 years old, they met by chance through a mutual date in college. They had been living just 25 miles apart in New York for most of their life, and had no idea. Get the details of their story here.

• Mr Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly. Packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye-eye. He waited his whole damn life to take that flight, and as the plane crashed down, he thought, “Well isn’t this nice.” And isn’t it ironic…*

Or is it just FATE? I guess we can’t avoid it.  

(left to right) Scott Montgomery, Jessica Frances Dukes, Maribeth Monroe, Travis Turner (photo by Michael Brosilow)

56% of Team Woolly does not believe in fate. What about you? Share your stories with us! Tweet @woollymammothtc using the hashtag #EverybodyDies!

* This is not a true story. Thank you, Alanis Morissette, for your brilliant lyrics.

~ Noel Edwards, Marketing and Communications Assistant

Do plan ahead: Wear shoes that slip off easily and pants that don’t need a belt. You do not want to worry about potentially flashing the entire screening area as the full body scanner gives some security agent an x-ray vision look at your whole body.

Don’t pre-wrap any presents: While TSA isn’t gonna stop you just for having that DVD for you sister already covered in paper, if you leave your fingernail clippers in your bag and set off security that mysterious DVD shaped object will need to be unwrapped and searched, and I bet most TSA agents don’t open presents like my grandmother who is trying to save all the paper and reuse it next year.

Do ask to be screened in private: If you are traveling with large amounts of cash or precious items there’s no need to open your suitcase full of twenties or your bag of Tiffany’s jewelry in front of other passengers. You can have your valuables searched in private and all you have to do is ask.

Don’t bring matches with you: Instead bring a lighter. In 2007, TSA stopped caring about lighters because stopping every smoker and pyro who goes through the airport and telling them they have to throw away their lighters was taking up far too much time; time which TSA was supposed to be using to find real explosives. Matches though, those are still bad.

Do take your musical instrument: TSA will allow you to take one musical instrument through security in addition to the one carry-on bag and one personal item, though not all airlines are cool with you taking all that stuff onto the plane. Plus no one wants to be the guy with extra stuff when they start asking Boarding Zone 4 passengers to check all their carry on items, so maybe you should just treat it as your personal item. Either way TSA recommends checking brass instruments and bringing string instruments with you on the plane. I assume this is because guitars will make for better mid-flight jam sessions than trumpets.

Don’t bring your parachute: While TSA has no problem with this, they do advise skydivers to arrive 30 minutes early to allow time for security officers to inspect a parachute rig if it arouses suspicion. And seriously how does bringing your own parachute not arouse suspicion? Would you start a business with someone who was already filling out the paperwork to file for bankruptcy? I think not.

Scott Montgomery plays a TSA Agent in SPOILER ALERT: EVERYBODY DIES (photo by Michael Brosilow)

Hopefully this simple list will help all you travelers this holiday season.

~ Cameron Huppertz, Literary Assistant