Arts and Humanities

Adam Rapp is no stranger to Actors Theatre of Louisville. Several of his plays have made their world premieres at the Humana Festival of New American Plays (the most recent, "The Edge of Our Bodies," opened in 2011), debut productions which Rapp has also directed. In fact, his directing career has focused on new plays, but when artistic director Les Waters invited him to direct a production of Sam Shepard's 1980 play "True West" this season, he took the challenge. 

Filmmaker Debra Granik -- best known for directing the 2010 film "Winter's Bone," which starred Lousiville native Jennifer Lawrence --  will speak Tuesday evening at Spalding University's Festival of Contemporary Writing. 

Granik talked Tuesday afternoon with WFPL's Jonathan Bastian about her craft, including what informs her projects.

""There are a lot of untold stories," Granik said. "The big thing is to have people that want to actually work with you to tell it."

The Slant Culture Theatre Festival opened over the weekend with a full slate of productions, workshops, special guests and events (read the overview). Five Louisville theater companies joined together to produce a repertory festival featuring five mainstage plays and about a dozen special events.

Given the sheer numbers every Christmas movie is up against, it's a wonder any of them end up in the holiday canon. We know and love "It's a Wonderful Life" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," and it seems as though "Love, Actually" has inched its way into new holiday classic territory, but what of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" or, indeed, most of the fourth quarter content on the Hallmark Channel? There's a lot of noise to cut through, but if a holiday movie makes it to the top with "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Miracle on 34th Street," it stays there.