Film Travelogue

Art world comes home with new documentary featuring Carter Museum exhibition

The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion

The documentary The Perilous Adventures of Mark Dion will debut on KERA.

Photo courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced the temporary closure of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, but art aficionados will get a taste of one of the exhibitions that was on view at the museum when local PBS station KERA (Channel 13) airs Erik Clapp’s documentary, The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion.

The film, which premieres at 7 pm Tuesday, April 21, was commissioned by the Carter alongside the exhibition of the same name, which opened on February 8 and was to have run through May 17.

Clapp’s 58-minute documentary serves as a travelogue for the exhibition, following artist Mark Dion as he retraces the footsteps of four 19th-century artist-explorers in Texas to create the exhibition. Those four explorers include artist and ornithologist John James Audubon, watercolorist Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge, architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and botanist Charles Wright.

The film chronicles Dion's travels to different regions of Texas as he created a sculptural inventory of found items to form his large-scale installation uniting the present and past of artistic exploration. Dion collected materials to form a site-specific immersive exhibition, which was coupled with works on paper, paintings, and archival materials from the Carter’s collection.

In addition to the April 21 debut, KERA will re-air the documentary at 11 pm Friday, April 24, 4 am Sunday, April 26, and 3 am Tuesday, April 28.

The film will be available nationwide beginning in May, on Amazon Prime.

For more artistic endeavors to enjoy from home, The Carter has introduced a new video series inspired by the museum’s collection and history, titled Cooped Up with the Carter. In the series, museum staff members and community partners explore artwork from the Carter’s collection and lead creative activities made from materials that people have lying around their house.

They also have off-shoot segments like Cooped Up with the Carter: In the Kitchen, where Carter staff present homemade recipes that take art inspiration to a whole new level, and Cooped Up with the Carter: Exhibition Tour, in which viewers can get their own personal tour of special exhibitions from Carter curators.

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Theater Critic Picks

These are 12 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for November

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical

Photo by Jeremy Daniel

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Grocery and department stores might want us to believe it's already the holidays, but at least local theater companies are (mostly) holding off until around Thanksgiving.

November starts with absurdism, moves along to a movie-turned-Broadway musical, and even throws a creepy thriller in the mix before it's time for Grinches, Scrooges, and Charlie Brown's sad Christmas tree.

In order of start date, here are 12 local shows to watch this month:

Exit the King
Undermain Theatre, through November 24
Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist comedy is set in the crumbling throne room of the palace in an unnamed country, where King Berenger the First has only the duration of the play to live. Once, it seemed he ruled over an immense empire and commanded great armies; now his kingdom has shrunk to the confines of his garden wall. Refusing to accept his end, he is attended by his present and former Queens, who must help him face the final inevitable truth of life.

Patti & Theo
Ochre House Theatre, November 2-23
The dark comedy with music that's written and directed by artistic director Matthew Posey returns. Patti and Theo are struggling artists in Brooklyn, New York. They are big boozers, and time will tell if the Drinking Religion outlives them. Song, music, and shadow play highlight this story of two lovers who hold each other passionately at arm’s length.

Mrs. Doubtfire
Broadway at the Bass, November 5-10
Everyone’s favorite Scottish nanny comes to Fort Worth in the musical based on the beloved film, which tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
WaterTower Theatre, November 6-17
Jane Wagner’s ever-timely one-woman show examines American society, art, and human connectivity, and explores the feminist movement. As one actor transforms into a series of other archetypal characters, they become the play’s guiding conscience for the audience. Under the guidance of the narrator, a role originated by Lily Tomlin, the audience is treated to a mischievously clever observer of the society around her.

A Tuna Christmas
Casa Mañana, November 9-17
It's 24 hours before Christmas and all comic hell is about to break loose. Tuna’s delightfully eccentric characters attempt to cope with seasonal traumas, like a disaster-prone production of A Christmas Carol and a yard-decorating contest that’s being sabotaged by a mysterious Christmas phantom.

Sleuth
Theatre Three, November 14-December 15
A cunning mystery writer, Andrew Wyke, invites his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, to his secluded English manor, setting off a deadly game of manipulation and deceit. As the tension rises, surprising twists keep the audience guessing the dramatic end. Presented in the Theatre Too space.

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Performing Arts Fort Worth, November 19-24
Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dallas Children's Theater, November 23-December 22
Discover the meaning of Christmas — or experience the nostalgia of childhood — while sharing laughs with the Peanuts Gang along the way. As a live combo fills hearts with music, merriment, and warmth, the story based on the Charles Schulz classic special is here just in time for the holidays.

Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings
Lyric Stage, November 29-December 22
The holiday classic by Stewart Ross opens Lyric Stage's 31st season. At first, Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky aren't sure why they've returned to Earth for another posthumous performance, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they're needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world.

The Play That Goes Wrong
Stage West, November 29-December 22
At opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, things are quickly going from bad to horrible. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), the whole evening is a disastrous smash.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, November 29-December 28
Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. Brimming with joyful songs, magical spirits, and holiday cheer, this holiday classic embodies a story of joy, redemption, and the spirit of Christmas.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Theatre Three, November 29-December 29
The vibrant musical spectacle set in 19th-century Russia, and based on a 70-page segment of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, lets romance and intrigue unfold amid glittering ballrooms and tumultuous relationships. Its score features a unique blend of electro-pop and Russian folk-inspired music.

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