is remembered for his dedication to theatre and friends Kris Vire (pronounced like “fire,” as he was always swift to add) was quick to become Chicago’s theatre keeper when he moved here from his hometown in Arkansas in the early 2000s When I accidentally fell into arts journalism one committed to getting the facts right in one of the most subjective written forms: theatre criticism Vire’s writing would often make me laugh or gasp even in his review of the first show I ever dramaturged professionally moved by his writing as he deftly maneuvered between potential faults of the play (which I grew to agree with) and the constraints he could see us artists navigating Chicago is a theatre town that holds its critics to high and Vire was able to keep up and push right back in the most generous I admired his ability to balance the hearts of artists while sharing incisive thoughts full of history and care When Vire received his dual cancer diagnosis last year he was adamant with his immediate family and close friends that he wanted the news to remain private shared the news on Facebook and an outpouring of tributes soon followed a substantial number of them noting Vire’s merit and care as an arts and culture writer theatre was such a small part of our overall life We were both nerds in a lot of similar ways We moved in together and both discovered a love of cooking to the point where we actually kept a spreadsheet of every meal that we cooked.” The couple had met on dating apps (first Tinder then Bumble) and had a first date at Broken Shaker Another date featured Torres’s first theatre experience A Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill holding your hand while you’re watching this very dense play about family drama and alcoholism.” The couple would go on to see hundreds of shows but always adhered to the “two-block rule”—i.e. they would not discuss the show until they were a reasonable distance away from the theatre “He was a brilliant person and a great writer but I’m just so proud of the friendships he developed.” Vire grew up in Fayetteville where his appreciation for theatre took root in high school when one of his best friends convinced him to audition for his first show in 1992 “His sense of humor always really stood out to me,” Cowden-Starbird recalled “We took theatre classes together.” Their friendship grew through Drama I “I think he enjoyed thinking about things from different perspectives Vire and Cowden-Starbird both ended up going to the University of Arkansas for college where he majored in drama and dramatics/theatre arts Cowden-Starbird recalls a meaningful full circle in a piece that followed them from high school scene study to their college production as seniors who is struggling with his homosexuality,” said Cowden-Starbrid “I always remember how excited I was for him because I knew how much he loved that material After college, Vire grew into a self-proclaimed “naturalized Chicagoan.” He was a founder of the Chicago-centric web publication Gapers Block, where he worked as contributing staff writer from 2003 to 2007. During that time, he also freelanced around town, primarily with Time Out Chicago, where he clocked almost 14 years working his way up from a contributor to a senior editor “He approached the theatre scene kind of like a park ranger; he wanted to do anything he could to protect and conserve the ecosystem including (hopefully) long after he was gone.” In 2018, recognizing a dearth of in-depth theatre coverage in Chicago, Vire relaunched his mid-aughts blog Storefront Rebellion into a Substack newsletter which offered a before-its-time model of centering a writer’s agency in long-form craft Vire’s Storefront Rebellion featured primarily reviews but as the pandemic rolled through our industry in 2020 he pivoted to incisive essays tracking show cancellations and local and national conversations on anti-racism and equity Vire left behind an archive, not just across legacy papers, but in his self-published projects. In his (re)introduction of Storefront Rebellion “I’m trying this because I believe theatremakers in Chicago deserve a greater volume of smart informed coverage than our local legacy publications are in a position to give and avid theatregoers in Chicago are hungry for guidance from sources they can trust.” Vire understood the necessity of this work but often downplayed his own role in the impact it becomes abundantly clear that Vire’s humility about his accomplishments started young His father recalls getting a phone call when Vire was in elementary school informing the parents of the location of a spelling bee championship They had no idea Vire had even been competing “Those things just didn’t register to him as being a big deal,” said Keith as he battled cancers and his loved ones battled over who would take him to doctor appointments Vire was known “as a bit of a Renaissance man” for dominating trivia games (in pubs and at family gatherings) He wrote some of his final Chicago magazine articles from a hospital bed His father recalled an interaction with one of Vire’s nurses as she was checking him into intensive care ‘I understand you used to be a writer.’ And he said Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (she/they) is a Chicago-based dramaturg, arts journalist, and cultural producer. Learn more at yasminzacaria.com and follow them on socials @yasminzacaria Support American Theatre: a just and thriving theatre ecology begins with information for all. Please join us in this mission by joining TCG which entitles you to copies of our quarterly print magazine and helps support a long legacy of quality nonprofit arts journalism ©2025 Theatre Communications Group Each gift is a stitch in the tapestry that celebrates our resilience Donate to TCG! a longtime champion of the city’s theater scene Here are some of our favorite stories he wrote Kris Vire had a keen sense of what worked onstage but he also gave careful consideration to the behind-the-scenes machinations of Chicago’s arts landscape but Vire brought a deeper insight to his coverage a thorough understanding of the voices and issues in the arena he covered This city has benefitted greatly from Vire’s thoughtful coverage and we’ll miss our friend and colleague dearly we present some of our favorites pieces he wrote for Chicago magazine: In 2019 he profiled Tarell Alvin McCraney as he returned to the stage after winning an Academy Award for the adapted screenplay of Moonlight he wrote about the first woman with a disability to play Richard III in a major U.S he used Audrey Francis’s Steppenwolf directing debut to talk about the artistic changes afoot at the vaunted theater company He was one of the first arts writers to bring attention to the comedy series South Side interviewing show regulars and writers Chandra Russell and Sultan Salahuddin before its 2019 premiere As much as he put a spotlight on worthy talent pointing out issues that needed addressing like when he admonished Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2018 for overlooking qualified local actors in favor of out-of-towners He weighed in with his concerns about nonunion work in this 2019 recap of the Jeff Awards he called for greater accountability and diversity in the Jeff Awards Tags: Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing A highly respected arts and culture journalist Vire privately battled multiple forms of cancer throughout the last year of his life Chicago theatre critic Kris Vire passed away November 18 after a year-long battle with metastatic cancer News of his passing was confirmed by his longtime partner Vire was born and raised in Fayetteville studying at the University of Arkansas before moving to Chicago in 2001. Mr Vire was a founding member of Gapers Block before joining Time Out Chicago where he worked his way up from staff writer to the core editor over the course of a decade he served as the Arts and Culture Editor for Chicago Magazine with additional freelance contributions to American Theater Magazine Vire was a regular guest on WGN Radio’s Dean Richards’ Sunday Morning the leader of a regular segment on ABC 7 Chicago’s 11am newscast and an on-camera personality for Fox 32 Chicago and CBS 2 Chicago with additional radio segments on WGN and WBEZ Vire's battle with both colon and esophageal cancer was kept strictly private across the last year of his life He continued publishing reflections on theatre and the culture space until a month before his death. A private invitation-only celebration of life will be held at a later date Noah Himmelstein will direct Matthew Puckett's original musical Neumann is the Tony nominated choreographer behind Hadestown and Swept Away one Tony winner is playing the trumpet while the other is channeling Madame Rose Due to the expansive nature of Off-Broadway and institutes have been revealed by the 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media sausage is made Important ideas and practical advice: Code Switch features fearless and much-needed conversations about race—and Life Kit offers practical advice on things in life no one prepared you for Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX Reveal is public radio’s first one-hour radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting A weekly program presented by the New Yorker magazine’s editor killer beats and the edgiest new talent in storytelling come together for a weekly show that straps audiences into an audio rollercoaster Radiolab is known for its deep-dive journalism and innovative sound design Created in 2002 by former host Jad Abumrad the program began as an exploration of scientific inquiry Over the years it has evolved to become a platform for long-form journalism and storytelling Radiolab is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser Kris Vire (foreground) with his partner Joe Torres Theater writer Kris Vire was always a champion of Chicago’s scrappy storefront theater scene because he could relate to the little guy Vire was bartending on the North Side and running a blog called Storefront Rebellion which reviewed storefront theater productions who served as editor at Time Out Chicago at the time reached out and gave him a shot as a critic for a major publication “Advocating for storefront and independent theaters it’s what got him out of bed in the morning,” Piatt said “He came from the scrappy roots of ‘If you want to do something and you don’t know how just start doing it’ and I think he appreciated theaters and artists who similarly found DIY ways to make it happen outside the margins without thinking about ‘Where’s this going to get me?’ or ‘Will it be marketable?’ but who instead were doing it for the sake of art and community rather than the end product,” said Steve Heisler Vire died Monday from colon cancer and esophageal cancer Vire studied theater at the University of Arkansas and was briefly an actor in storefront productions when he moved to Chicago in 2001 before he found his calling as a writer he’s from Arkansas and I’m from a tiny town in Kansas but he fully believed the real spirit and value of Chicago theater was in the storefronts and he relished the task of writing about people who made the shows and advocating the stuff he thought was good and being as honest as he could about the stuff he thought was bad,” Piatt said Vire spent about a decade at Time Out before starting a freelance career in 2018 that included bylines in the Chicago Sun-Times and The New York Times He most recently worked as Arts and Culture Editor for Chicago magazine Vire attended big budget shows but preferred taking in theater with his notepad in hand at storefronts and basements and churches “where people were going out of their way to create something that would create no industry buzz but there’d be budding and flowing talent,” Heisler said “He was so vigilant about keeping on top of everything that was happening in the storefront community,” said Jonathan Green former artistic director of Sideshow Theatre “He could reference something a tiny theater company had done 15 years before; and his writing was so witty It was clear how much he cared about not only the Chicago theater community at large but especially these tiny companies that he thought would one day grow into larger institutions and become part of the story of Chicago theater,” Green said “He approached the theater scene kind of like a park ranger; he wanted to do anything he could to protect and conserve the ecosystem including (hopefully) long after he was gone,” Piatt wrote in a remembrance of Mr was also a founding member of Gapers Block He was engaged to be married to his longtime partner But we left nothing unsaid with one another and were essentially married,” Torres said A private celebration of life is being planned Terms of Use • Privacy Notice • Cookie Policy • Terms of Sale This website is using a security 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The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology 29-Nov-2024 Last updated on 04-Dec-2024 at 07:12 GMT Elle & Vire is best known for its butters and creams, often nicknamed ‘the Eiffel Tower brand’ due to its incorporation of the structure on its logo. The brand recently unveiled its first AI-designed cake to underscore the role of this technology in the food and beverage industry, and highlighted its belief that AI will play a pivotal role in the sector – but not to the point of replacing humans just yet. “AI is pretty much a open topic within the industry these days, and we know that it has an important role to play to improve efficiencies in areas such as data management, marketing and so on,” Elle & Vire parent company Savencia Fromage & Dairy Southern Asia MD Joris Bernard told FoodNavigator-Asia at the launch event. “It makes things easier, it makes things faster, and for us in this industry it also plays an added role of being able to accelerate the ideation process and provide inspiration when it comes to designs and so on. “However, the caveat here is that this in no way means that AI is set to replace humans – It can be creative and help with tedious tasks, but at the end of the day it still cannot be used as-is yet. “For instance, with regard to our AI-designed cake, we input keywords and it generated many different designs - but it still came down to our chefs’ innovation and creativity to put these into recipes based on their own experience. “So we see that we can leverage AI to improve the creation process, but definitely not rely on it to replace the human element entirely at all.” Bernard also stated that as a premium dairy brand, the firm has the added task of not only maintaining but improving dairy product quality and efficiency in the current times of economic turbulence, in order to justify its product prices in this price-sensitive region. “There can be no denying that prices of not only dairy but various commodities have surged over the past two years, and this comes down to not just the products but also items like electricity and transport costs, particularly in Europe,” he said. “The demand for butter and cream post-pandemic has somehow seen a major surge, meaning that supply is now less than demand, and this issue has been made worse by a number of dairy farmers giving up the business as many of the younger generation don’t want to be farmers. “This saw the butter prices in Europe for example surge up and more or less double since 2023, from around EUR400/ton to over EUR600/ton and this has been a challenge for basically everyone in the dairy sector from distributors to manufacturers. “All this has meant some price increases, and as a premium dairy brand we also have the added responsibility of increasing the quality of our products to justify any price increases we implement, and we are also working to improve efficiencies and productivity.” That said, he expressed optimism for the sector in the near future given the brand’s premium status. “In times of inflation such as this, we are seeing that consumers are even more on the lookout for value for their purchases, which means that quality has become even more important for them,” he said. “This plays in our favour as a premium brand, as consumers will still come to us for good value – they may use a little bit less in order to save, but they will still choose us. “This has been quite apparent as despite the inflation and economic situation, our volumes have still been on the up and up, so we are optimistic.” Biscuits & Cookies: How can dark cocoa and chocolate help capture untapped market potential?Paid for and in partnership with Cargill The ‘invisible aroma’: The pastry chefs shaping next-gen vanilla Paid for and content provided by Takasago The rise of dairy butter equivalents: A ‘scalable future-proof’ solutionPaid for and content provided by Bunge A demonstration of the Virtual Immersive Reality Environment (VIRE) platform built by professor Bilal Farooq at his lab The Laboratory of Innovations in Transportation (LiTrans) Most pedestrian fatalities in Canada happen on urban roads As city streets become more crowded with vehicles – and soon automated cars – an understanding of human travel behaviour is essential to make urban spaces safer the Canada Research Chair in Disruptive Transportation and Services at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is reimagining urban transportation with innovative research His team uses the Virtual Immersive Reality Environment (VIRE) platform paired with digital twin technology to create computer-generated simulations of test environments that mirror physical reality in real time Developed by civil engineering professor Farooq in his lab immersive studies of urban transportation challenges by simulating pedestrian cycling and driving interactions simultaneously “We have used VIRE to study a wide range of issues interactions between pedestrians and automated vehicles pedestrian stress and social conformity,” said professor Farooq Pedestrian safety is a priority for cities Statistics Canada data shows that mid-block areas are the second most common sites for pedestrian fatalities Professor Farooq’s team studies how making changes to streets in these high-risk mid-block areas can affect pedestrians’ crossing decisions participants wear sensors to track their stress responses through sweat gland activity as they cross the virtual two-way street “Our experiments revealed that the presence of a street median served as a refuge for the pedestrians significantly reducing stress levels by providing a safe midpoint during the crossing,” said professor Farooq.  The findings from this research offer urban planners and policymakers a practical tool to assess how street design can make crossings safer and less stressful As automated vehicles (AVs) become more common building public trust in them will be crucial for their acceptance and ensuring pedestrian safety AVs can utilize a technology called External Human-Machine Interface (eHMI) to communicate with other road users Visual symbols similar to those commonly seen at traffic lights including green walking and red stop symbols are displayed on the exteriors of AVs where other road users can easily see them.  Professor Farooq employs the VIRE environment to measure pedestrians’ stress levels while they interact with and respond to these cues The collected data is used to train AV models and help pedestrians understand AVs' actions through the eHMI symbols particularly in complex situations like road crossings.  “Integrating pedestrian safety measures that account for automated vehicles and varying demographics in the general design of urban settings would greatly benefit urban planners and policymakers in designing safer and more inclusive environments,” said professor Farooq Automated vehicles can use a technology called External Human-Machine Interface (eHMI) to communicate with other road users Learn more about TMU’s Laboratory of Innovations in Transportation and the Virtual Immersive Reality Environment (VIRE) platform. (external link)  Read professor Farooq’s research paper “Decoding pedestrian stress on urban streets using electrodermal activity monitoring in virtual immersive reality” in Science Direct. (external link)  51st edition of this stage race promoted by the Mid Devon CC The race’s origins go back to 1973 when the Mid-Devon Road Club first promoted a two-day event to mark the twinning of Totnes and Vire in Normandy STARTLIST: TOTNES-VIRE – The 2025 promotion of the race is the 51st edition of this stage race promoted by the Mid Devon CC This classic race has led to some immense battles in the past with previous winners including; Darrel Webster Cornish legend Steve Lampier and our own Mike Parker To honour the 3 greats of the club that we have lost over the past years we have named each stage in memory of them Send your results as well as club, team & event news here Powered by WordPress. Designed by photographer Mark Ballogg lets us into local artists’ workspaces a visit to the studio of the octogenarian sculptor Richard Hunt turned into a six-year-long exploration was one of Chicago’s best-known artists thanks to his distinctive abstract metal sculptures that found public homes in cities around the globe “I was just absolutely mesmerized,” Ballogg says of that 2017 peek inside Hunt’s Lincoln Park workshop filled with stacks of scrap metal in various stages of transformation I could really represent Chicago’s artist community.” That impulse eventually took the shape of Making Space Ballogg’s 2023 self-published photo book featuring 93 studios and quotes from many of the artists about how they approach their work The book is now the basis of a new exhibition on view November 8 to February 28 at Bridgeport’s Alma Art & Interiors that displays works by 31 of the artists from it along with large-scale prints of the photos Ballogg brought what he considered an outsider’s eye to the project despite his own history as a collector of local art and a nearly four-decade career as an architectural photographer “I have always struggled with calling myself an artist,” he says “So the project started to become a way for me to suss out my path for myself with my own practice seeing into the lives of artists and the way they work and starting to realize that the sky’s the limit and that I can do whatever I decide I want to do.” The images in Making Space testify to Ballogg’s eye for unexpected detail while also representing a new frontier in his own work “I was freed up from satisfying someone else’s needs A lot of the photographs are more akin to still lifes than interiors.” Ballogg’s architectural background created expectations among some of the participating artists that he found himself having to temper ‘This is not going to be a document of your studio I’m trying to make images that reveal something; I’m looking for a little secret.’ ” Some of those secrets will be revealed in minute detail in the exhibition prints which have a depth that can’t be seen in the pages of a book “I bought a special camera to do this project that has a medium format sensor and allows me to make 30-by-40-inch and 40-by-60-inch prints Final decisions about how to organize the exhibition were still being discussed when we spoke in early September but Ballogg liked the idea of putting some separation between the artists’ works on display and the images of the places where that art was born “It’ll be interesting for some people to go and find the piece that matches the photograph Tags: Actor Namir Smallwood gains our Primary Trust There’s a palpable intensity to many of the characters Namir Smallwood inhabits onstage from the posturing young tough of Northlight Theatre’s Charm to the paranoid soldier of Steppenwolf’s Bug to his first appearances in front of an audience growing up in Newark and I used to learn Martin Luther King speeches “I was 11 or 12 and started going around New Jersey doing these speeches at I knew I had a gift because all the older people would be sitting there with tears in their eyes like they were reliving the ’60s Smallwood’s latest role is less fiery but no less heartfelt a timid and seemingly traumatized bookstore clerk who spends his evenings at a tiki bar talking to an imaginary friend in the Goodman Theatre’s Chicago premiere of Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust the winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for drama “The thing that I find great about Kenneth is that Eboni doesn’t really give you a lot of backstory,” says Smallwood “There’s a whole history that he has no idea of himself An ensemble member at Steppenwolf since 2017 the Hyde Park resident feels settled in Chicago even as projects increasingly take him elsewhere Do your best and things always work out.’ And they’re right.” Primary Trust runs October 5 to November 3 at the Goodman Theatre Almost 90% of the population in the town of Vire Calvados (Normandy) will soon be forced to change their address The commune will bring together eight areas but also requires the mairie to distribute 5,000 new house number plaques to residents A dedicated team is working to ensure that the numbers are sent out in time with the new addresses required to be displayed from March 15 onwards the administrative cost of the change is €250,000 and a ‘numéro vert’ phone helpline has been set up for any residents who need administrative help to make the switch “It can be complicated,” said Francoise Foubert who has been helping to answer the helpline calls “For people who don’t have computers at home or who are slightly older and are not necessarily used to it all “There are so many changes to make, that it can feel a bit suffocating for people. So we’re here to help them with it,” she told FranceInfo who works at watchmaker Atelier Kairos in the town centre will see the business premises’ number change from 2 to 26 “We've had to tell all of our professional customers that we’re changing addresses and redo all of our business cards,” he said It’s not the end of the world…but it’s a bit annoying.” The change comes after a recent ‘decentralisation’ law which stipulated that all streets in France must have a name and all homes must have a number and unique address Anyone whose address changed as part of that law was also required to ensure that their new address was listed on all documentation The main aim behind the law is to facilitate the installation of new fibre internet and make finding addresses easier for emergency services Read also: French village plans to (finally) number its houses and name streets  the small village of Faux-la-Montagne in Creuse (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) had to name and number its streets for the first time ever They were not previously considered necessary as all 430 residents ‘knew where everything was’.  new fibre internet installation and increased parcel deliveries meant that mayor Catherine Moulin was prompted to make the switch.  ‘All I have is this precious image and the story behind it’ ‘I don’t think anyone could walk through without getting a real sense of respect for the soldiers who died here’ Health warnings are in place for vulnerable people The brand also unveiled its first-ever AI-designed dessert to key industry partners crafted in association with world-celebrated Chefs Nicolas Boussin & Chong Ko Wai a standout highlight of the week alongside its showcase at the prestigious FHA-HoReCa tradeshow Elle & Vire Professionnel® is an international dairy brand which has been a pioneer in food technology and innovation The globally renowned brand cherished by the world’s finest Chefs proudly took center stage as the Main Partner at the Asian Pastry Cup held concurrently at the FHA-HoReCa 2024 tradeshow in Singapore The prestigious pastry competition gathered over 27 talented Chefs from nine countries for its 10th edition this year who took to the stage to showcase their exceptional pastry skills in a highly anticipated event Japan emerged victorious at the 10th edition of the Asian Pastry Cup Teams Malaysia and Singapore won the Silver and Bronze prizes respectively The winners of Asian Pastry Cup will move on to the World Pastry Cup being held in Sirha Lyon in France in January 2025 where Elle & Vire Professionnel® will be the Global Sponsor Team Philippines was one of three teams to receive a special award “Passport to Lyon,” which serves as a wild card entry to the World Pastry Cup Grand Final on 24 and 25 January Presenting the winning trophy to the Japan team said “We’re proud to be the Main Partner of the prestigious Asian Pastry Cup – a celebration of creativity We have supported the journeys of these talented Chefs with our unrivalled dairy expertise and product innovations and continue to embrace the technological advancements that will shape the future of the food and beverage industry.” Nurturing Emerging Culinary Talent at the Asian Pastry Cup These partnerships are aligned with the brand’s longstanding commitment to nurturing culinary talent and fostering professional development The brand has been an avid supporter of some of the world’s most prestigious competitions such as Bocuse d’Or Through its support of events like the Asian Pastry Cup the brand reaffirms its dedication to excellence and its vision of driving the future of the industry A Legacy Rooted in Technology & Innovation In conjunction with FHA-HoReCa and Asian Pastry Cup 2024 Elle & Vire Professionnel® leveraged on the opportunity to garner its international network of renowned Chefs to create exquisite recipes for its patrons at FHA-HoReCa The brand also curated an exclusive state-of-the-art gastronomy experience for key industry partners who attended a private event hosted by the brand themed “AI-CING on the Cake” at The Arts House Singapore on 23rd October 2024 Elle & Vire Professionnel® made new waves by unveiling a groundbreaking creation – its first-ever AI-designed pastillage sugar piece and dessert The desserts’ inspiration was formulated based on generative AI prompts which were then embodied by the Chefs in their curation Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2000 (Best Pastry Craftsman in France) and Executive Pastry Chef at Elle & Vire Professionnel®; and Chef Ko Wai Chong Elle & Vire Professionnel® Chef Ambassador for Malaysia & Founder of C3 Lab; and Tern Poh Lim industry expert on Artificial Intelligence the initiative marries cutting-edge technology with exquisite artisanal pastry craftsmanship a marketing activation spearheaded by Savencia Fromage & Dairy’s Southern Asia Marketing Director Flora Guyénot and Marketing Activation & Digital Head Katherine Leow Elle & Vire Professionnel® has launched many innovative products that have revolutionized the everyday life of consumers and professionals for more than 70 years Evolution and progression are rooted in the DNA of our brand,” said Flora Guyénot The AI-designed dessert exemplifies the brand’s continued focus on pushing the boundaries of innovation by leveraging technological advancements It underscores the brand’s pioneering spirit demonstrating how AI can revolutionize the food & beverage industry This innovation aligns with the growing trend of AI adoption in the space of food creation where AI is being used to optimize ingredient sourcing The brand’s rich history of innovation dates to 1945 in France as Elle & Vire Professionnel® was one of the precursors in the use of UHT sterilization technology developing one of the first UHT whipping cream in 1975 The Elle & Vire Professionnel® Excellence Cream continues to be the preferred choice by Michelin-starred Chefs and the most exported French cream in the world the brand announced the launch of its latest innovation the Elle & Vire Professionnel® Cooking Cream – Sour Taste a versatile product that can be used for a diverse range of cooking needs including pastry which penetrated into the Asian market recently Elle & Vire Professionnel® continues to stand at the forefront of the pastry and culinary industry integrating tradition with innovation and nurturing the growth of emerging pastry & culinary talents Savencia Fromage & Dairy is among the world’s leading milk processors focusing on cheese specialties and high-value-added dairy ingredients Savencia Fromage & Dairy is an independent family group listed with Euronext Paris Savencia is present in Food Service and Retail in Asia with solid and leading brands and website in this browser for the next time I comment This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Oddicombe Hill time-trial moves to Saturday afternoon The latest news as it happens across Torquay Find out what is happening & the latest breaking news in Torbay important updates and local opinions from Torquay Paignton & Brixham at the Torbay Weekly News Torquay United FC match reports & opinions and other Local sports news days out for the kids and amazing holiday ideas in Torquay Your source of news from beyond the bay covering Devon News and UK News The Torbay Weekly Business awards celebrates the accomplishments of Torbay based Businesses and brings together the Torbay Business community Paignton & Brixham from the local community & our Torbay based reporters property sales & property of the week in Torquay Get your local Torbay traffic & travel reports and airport departures in and around Torquay Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter Support our mission and join our community now you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism The first two stages of this weekend’s Totnes-Vire Two-Day cycling stage race have been switched with the spectacular time-trial up Torquay’s Oddicombe Hill now taking place on Saturday afternoon It was originally intended to hold the lung-bursting four-hairpin test from Oddicombe Beach as Stage One in the morning But a double-booking at Paignton’s Torbay Velopark has prompted a swap so the first stage of the 51-year-old race will now be a 42-mile ‘Criterium’ at the Velopark The action will then move to Oddicombe Hill for the threequarters of a mile climb against the clock The hill will be closed to traffic for the duration of the event The Totnes-Vire’s third and final stage will still be held over a gruelling 70-mile road race course between Hatherleigh Okehampton and Jacobstowe on Sunday (10.30am) " + $(".testo_articolo").html().replace(//g please subscribe and support local journalism Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles To continue reading this article for FREE,please kindly register and/or log in Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez Image: Al Macphee / Miracle PR and Event Photography Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm Vodafone Group and the i2CAT research centre are to demonstrate the first use case for their the Open Gateway Multi-Telco Innovation Lab at MWC Barcelona 2025 The Lab was launched last November to offer “a developer-ready environment enabling companies and developers to explore and use telco capabilities through standardised APIs” The proof of concept (PoC) is a mobile application designed by LAUDE to ensure a consistently safe environment for individuals protected by restraining orders the use case will be demonstrated at the GSMA booth (Hall 4 an open source project under the aegis of the Linux Foundation LAUDE’s PoC has integrated various APIs provided by the Lab The application also employs AI algorithms powered by the APIs integrated into telco networks for better enhanced security and reliability “compared to other market alternatives” has optimised the performance of these APIs to fine-tune their functionality the Lab demonstrates its capabilities in a use case that prioritise critical social needs,” according to the press statement ViRe is a multi-operator mobile application that informs victims in real time of the proximity or risky behaviour of people identified as potentially dangerous to them in a bid to keep them safe The application also alerts law enforcement and Victims protected by restraining orders can set safe locations and verify security at public venues in multiple countries as it is based on universal APIs ViRe can also be configured to monitor places related to the victim even if the victim is not present It takes just one minute to register for the leading daily B2B newsletter for the telecoms industry The recently laid off editor of Time Out Chicago reflects on the scene he’s covered and the state of arts journalism When even a storied theatre town like Chicago starts dropping its theatre critics That’s one thought provoked by the decision of Time Out Chicago to lay off Kris Vire who’s been covering theatre in the Windy City since the magazine’s very first issue but he was brought on full time in 2007 and became the theatre editor there in 2009 He’s hung on through several changes including Time Out Chicago’s decision to go online-only in 2013 then return to print with a quarterly edition in 2015 But this week was his last at the desk from which he’s viewed and commented on one of the nation’s most influential theatre scenes. Yesterday I caught up with Kris, a frequent contributor to this magazine The thing that I figured out pretty quickly is that my background as a person who’d been involved in making theatre was really useful to me in figuring out how to write as a critic having had to take design classes in a B.A having been involved in all aspects of theatre at the academic level at least and a little bit at the storefront Chicago theatre level gave me the language to be able to talk about what I saw onstage I go back and read some of the stuff I wrote in 2006 I’ve always felt a responsibility to try to see that kind of stuff to see new theatre companies where I can champion stuff that doesn’t have huge a marketing budget of its own I do think that the pressures that are being felt by all kinds of media as we move into more of a digital age are bound to affect what shows are able to get that kind of word out the last five years since we ended the weekly magazine I’ve really had to start paying attention to what kind of traffic theatre reviews get online But in terms of the landscape I’ve been seeing just very recently: I counted on my calendar that I had 49 shows opening in the month of April that were requesting reviews from us The most that I could manage to actually review or get reviewed in Time Out was So I hope that there are audiences for all of those shows and that those audiences are finding them But it’s becoming a lot more difficult proposition for all those shows to get what we call earned media coverage and Michele Wright of Indianapolis; brother Larry Johnson (Ann) of Ocean Springs MS; sister-in-law Suzanne Johnson of Terre Haute; brother-in-law Carlton Wright (Caren) of Prairie Creek; seven grandchildren and Jillian Vire; fifteen great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents Mallinckrodt after 36 years of Customer Service and Customer Service Supervisor positions; retired from Terre Haute Regional Hospital after 5 years in Registration and 7 years in HR.  She has been Secretary and Treasurer of the Pogue Cemetery for 40 plus years.  Phyllis was a member of the First Prairie Creek Baptist Church.  She and Larry remained friends with retired Pastor Ray Dyer (Doris) and took trips together.  She enjoyed working in her flowers and garden decorating her home and office for the holidays traveling and documenting the trips with the REVS of THRH and the luncheons with the CSC IMC Mallinckrodt group at DeBaun Springhill Chapel with visitation at the funeral home beginning at 11:00 a.m Pastor Kevin Dobson and Pastor Don Ransford will officiate.  The burial will be in Pogue Cemetery.  The family suggests that for those who desire memorial contributions may be made to the Pogue Cemetery or the First Prairie Creek Baptist Church.  Online condolences may be made to www.debaunfuneralhomes.com MONTREAL – The Vire au vert coalition, made up of twenty one Quebec civil society organizations, is calling on the federal political parties represented in the House of Commons to commit to respecting the Quebec Environmental Consensus as they develop their respective political platforms for the upcoming federal election campaign “Policies adopted by the federal government can have significant consequences on provincial jurisdictions Committing to the principles of this Consensus is an opportunity for the federal parties to ensure the credibility of the environmental component of their future election platforms in the eyes of Quebec voters,” said the coalition members The Vire au vert coalition has sent letters to the different federal parties calling on them to take a position on the Quebec Environmental Consensus Quebec’s environmental ambition is non-negotiable structuring environmental principles that have guided its economic and social development The choice of hydroelectricity and the nationalization of its production and distribution the adoption of a zero-emission vehicle standard the implementation of a carbon market that puts a price on pollution and caps emissions – these are all choices made by Quebecers that have been brought together in a set of plans They make up a foundation on which our future will continue to be built,” added the members of the group “The Quebec Environmental Consensus is the baseline on environmental issues that must be respected by the federal parties if they want the Quebec electorate to take them seriously There’s nothing radical about what’s in the Consensus – the policies and principles are basic common sense,” said the members of the coalition The Vire au vert coalition has prepared a summary of the key elements of the Consensus and has invited the federal political parties to refer to it as they prepare for the next election to ensure that their proposals respect Quebec’s environmental orientations Vire au vert is a citizen mobilization initiative to bring environmental issues to the forefront during election campaigns The initiative encourages citizens and elected representatives to inform themselves and mobilize on environmental issues during the election Members of Vire au vert for the federal election 2025 Association québécoise des médecins pour l’environnement (AQME) Front commun québécois pour une gestion écologique des déchets Regroupement national des conseils régionaux de l’environnement du Québec [email protected] ; +1 438 928-5237 and corporations are using their wealth to silence dissent undo decades of social and environmental progress We know what Bank Governor Mark Carney did on climate what could we make him do if we work our asses off in smart ways OTTAWA – In reaction to Mark Carney being elected as the new Prime Minister of Canada Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Please select which cookies you are willing to store These cookies will provide you a better experience of our website You will be able to hide the cookies acceptance banner and use the website features better The non-acceptance of these cookies will give you a cookie-free experience These cookies help improving the performance of Greenpeace.org They are set to collect data such as how long users stay on a page or which links are clicked This helps us make better content based on your experience navigating the website The Totnes-Vire Two-Day cycling weekend The latest news as it happens in Dartmoor covering Okehampton important updates and local opinions from across Okehampton Cycling and more local Dartmoor Sports News property sales & property of the week including Okehampton house prices and opinions on Dartmoor's property market including Okehampton Local area spotlights & features across Dartmoor Dartmoor national park is 368 miles of beautiful English countryside find out what green issues are affecting Dartmoor here at The Moorlander Get local news & council updates for across Dartmoor including Okehampton Showcasing and celebrating the incredible independent businesses of Dartmoor Ashburton & Surrounding areas from the local community & our reporters Get your local Dartmoor traffic & travel reports Luke Barfoot of Dorset’s Primera TeamJobs cycling team earned an eventful Totnes-Vire Two-Day stage victory which was masterminded by former champion Steve Lampier With less than a minute covering the top 20 riders after the first two stages in Torbay the scene was set for a no-quarter-given battle over the final 70-mile road race under cloudless skies at Hatherleigh (writes Dave Thomas) and an advantage of 24 seconds over his nearest rival was held by Exeter’s former national junior hill climb champion George Kimber - he had finished second in the opening closed circuit stage at Paignton’s Torbay Velopark and then won the short sharp time trial up Oddicombe Hill on Saturday afternoon But Kimber was the only member of his Spirit Racing Team in the Mid-Devon CC promotion and veteran ex-UK and European Pro Lampier was determined to test him to the limit who won one of the toughest-ever Totnes-Vire races in 2015 asked his Primera teammates – they included 2024 winner Gabe Dellar - to put Kimber under pressure from the start of the final stage joined in the plan and the in-form Kimber was soon under pressure He manfully chased down a series of attacks between Hatherleigh but he couldn’t keep doing it and he readily admitted by the time he punctured with just over 20 miles to go one of the most consistent riders in the South West had gone clear with MDCC prospect James Pearcy and two more graduates from the host club - Piers Mahn leaving Barfoot to pull away from Mahn and Meek in the closing stages and clinch overall victory Day One had seen a tyre-width win for Cameron McLaren (TAAP Kalas) after nearly an hour and a half of spirited racing at the Velopark with Kimber just second and Thomas Doig (Primera TeamJobs) third All three earned time bonuses on the stage The margins were also small on Oddicombe Hill although that is proving a popular part of the race Kimber powered up the climb in a minute 56 seconds he was still vulnerable to the sort of sustained pressure that Lampier Barfoot & Co had in store for him in Sunday’s final stage 3 Ben Millar (both Reflex Nopinz) 2.01; Stage Three – 1 Luke Barfoot 2hrs 37 mins 34secs Torbay pro Harrison Wood (Anicolor-Tien21) won the King Of The Mountains jersey in the high-class Grand Prix Miguel Indurain Wood got into a quality breakaway that was only caught with 15 of the 204 kilometres to go before fast-rising young Belgian star Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) powered to a solo victory on the run-in although my legs exploded a bit near the end.” Wood’s next target is expected to be the four-day Vuelta a Asturias (Apr 24-27) captured at the Bath Festival by Steven Haywood is set to perform at the Exeter Comedy Festival after winning the US Eddie-Folio award for best comedy A winning design by 12-year-old Juniper Holliday featured in the 2025 Dartmoor Youth Art Competition Reach out for help: How drug and alcohol recovery services could work for you or a loved one The 2024 promotion is the 50th edition of this stage race promoted by the Mid Devon CC The race’s origins go back to 1973 when the Mid-Devon Road Club first promoted a two-day event to mark the twinning of Totnes and Vire in Normandy To honour the 3 greats of the club that we have lost over the past year we have decided to name each stage in memory of them Stage 1 (10.31 stage starts) – Ken Robertson Ruby Country TT Stage 2 (1.30pm) – Roy Hopkins Dartmoor View Road Race confirmed on Saturday that the Secretariat of State has sent a “Note Verbale” to the Embassy of France to the Holy See The diplomatic communication regards the “alleged decision of the Tribunal of Lorient in France in a civil dispute concerning the dismissal from a religious Institute of Ms Sabine de la Valette (formerly Sister Marie Ferréol).” Bruni highlighted that the Holy See learned this information “only from the press.” It was also emphasized that Cardinal Marc Ouellet who at the time of the event was Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops “never received any summons from the Lorient Tribunal.” The Press Office Director stated that the Cardinal “did indeed conduct an apostolic visitation to the Institute of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Spirit (Dominicaines du Saint Esprit) in compliance with a pontifical mandate; following this visitation a series of canonical measures were taken against Ms including her dismissal from the religious institute.” “A potential ruling from the Lorient Tribunal,” concluded the Director of the Holy See Press Office “could raise not only significant issues concerning immunity but if it ruled on internal discipline and membership in a religious institute it might have constituted a serious violation of the fundamental rights to religious freedom and freedom of association of Catholic faithful.” Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here Desiree Vire and Jason Hammond live with their dogs in a parked van in a yard on Front Street in Claremont Neighbors have complained about alleged drug activity in the area a teenager was shot by a man allegedly breaking into cars on the street (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News May not be reprinted or used online without permission lives across the street from where a shooting took place in Claremont early Sunday morning Kinney said he saw police officers walk up a bank with a number of bags Kinney said he has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and he and his partner have never had any problems until about a year ago when people started living in a nearby shack a child care and preschool center in Claremont Due to public safety concerns in the neighborhood the center’s employees always leave work together and carry mace with them works on a job next to his house on Friday who owns a roofing and construction business has organized a neighborhood watch group near his home some with handguns (but Roberts does not carry a gun) Roberts has had his work truck broken into twice Recently a teenager in the neighborhood was shot by a man who was allegedly breaking into cars (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News a teenager was shot by a man allegedly breaking into cars on Front Street in Claremont Neighbors have been complaining to authorities for a year about drug activity has had troubles with neighbors near the child care center to such a degree the center is looking for a new location a teenager was shot when he found Jared Strickland allegedly breaking into a car on the street Tremblay said she blames drug traffic from one location on the street Tremblay said she and her staff carry mace with them "We're sick and tired of having to watch our back," she said Tremblay said at least twice a week teachers have had to bring children inside from the playground due to unsafe people near the school CLAREMONT — Antique store owner Winston Kinney said he has lived nearly 30 years in the city’s West Terrace neighborhood without any concern about crime or safety Across the Sugar River from downtown and tucked between North Street and lower Main Street the neighborhood includes an unassuming mix of aging single-family homes and apartments such as the popular meat wholesaler Liberal Beef “It’s always been a quiet neighborhood,” said Kinney But the character of the neighborhood has changed in the past year and the trouble culminated this week with the shooting of a teenager who interrupted a man breaking into his mother’s car The shooting has reignited neighbors’ frustrations over a nuisance property that has been a recurring focus of neighborhood complaints Residents of the neighborhood said that a shooting incident or even a spree of car break-ins that preceded it would have been unimaginable until recently and I’m surprised that people are stealing (now),” said Bob Allen who has lived over 20 years on Front Street a 17-year-old resident of Front Street — whom police only identified by the initials “B.P.” — was leaving for work at about 4:30 a.m last Sunday when he saw a man breaking into his mother’s car during which the man drew a .22-caliber revolver and shot the teen in the arm The victim was treated for injuries at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center who said this week that the family wanted to maintain their privacy and declined to comment further after a brief manhunt aided by a police dog and surveillance cameras in the neighborhood Claremont Police arrested 24-year-old Jared Strickland including for first-degree assault with a firearm and for several vehicle robberies last Saturday night and Sunday morning Strickland was listed as living just across the Sugar River on Central Street near St Strickland is currently being held at the Sullivan County jail in Unity Hersh denied his request for bail at an arraignment on Monday in Claremont District Court Asked what might have drawn Strickland to the West Terrace neighborhood Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot said this week that it is unclear “When you have a densely populated neighborhood with a lot of cars there is more opportunity (for criminals),” Wilmot said “All we know is that he came from a different neighborhood.” Jason Hammond moved into a detached wooden garage at 44 Front St. on a quarter-acre lot that includes a two-story home built in 1880 who acquired the property from her parents last September Hammond said that Smith and Vire have a strained relationship which is why the couple does not live in the house Hammond and Vire initially lived in the garage which they remodeled into what Hammond called a “tiny house.” But last September the city issued an order to vacate the garage — which is not a permitted dwelling in New Hampshire due in part to its lack of a sanitation system Chief Building Inspector Leigh Hays said in an interview on Wednesday the couple acquired a purple Dodge van as their new living quarters and it sits outside the garage near a driveway a childcare center on Royce Street that faces the property said they have seen telltale signs that the property is being used for narcotics transactions Hammond denied being involved in the drug trade noting that the police have never found drugs on the property Hammond said he was raised in Lebanon but had been living in Washburn Hammond said he moved from Maine with the mother of his child “I’m just trying to get back to Maine,” Hammond said adding that he and Vire plan on leaving Claremont in the spring Hammond said he has worked in the past as a contractor Hammond said that he did not know Strickland there is an ongoing investigation of possible criminal conduct occurring on Front Street and there have been arrests of people who are connected to the property including individuals who visited in vehicles though he declined to discuss further details said that safety concerns first arose last summer when the couple began letting their dogs — a greyhound-pit bull mix and a German Shepherd Wilmot confirmed that police began receiving complaints from residents about the dogs being loose and harassing neighbors At least one person reported getting bitten Hammond said in an interview that neither of his dogs have ever bitten anyone in the neighborhood their activities stayed behind closed doors which meant less for the community to see and to worry about that’s when we began seeing the drug activity,” Tremblay said who lives on Royce Street with her boyfriend said that some residents refer to the garage property as “the crack shack.” Christensen said that many visitors to the property park their cars on Royce Street Many cars that visit the property have out-of-state license plates said she no longer lets her 9-year-old son go outside alone even for the short walk to his friend’s house in the neighborhood Tremblay said the child care staff monitor 44 Front St. especially when children are on the playground when there are visitors to the property or an unfamiliar car parks nearby staff will bring the children inside as a precaution The child care workers track vehicles that drive down Front Street using their surveillance cameras Tremblay also said there has been an influx of cars with out-of-state license plates on the street since last year Tremblay said that they are in the process of relocating Ready Set Grow to property elsewhere in the city where children and staff will be safer Much has changed at the child care center since last fall Staff used to walk the children to a park off campus Staff now make a point of leaving the facility in pairs at night but I often can’t do that now because it requires at least two of us to stay,” she said Tremblay said she and all her teachers carry cans of pepper spray Tremblay said last month she filed a no-tresspass order against Hammond and Vire after Vire came onto the property and began yelling at staff outside a classroom window to stop staring at their property said that the Claremont police have been responsive to the facility’s safety concerns making periodic patrols of the neighborhood and checking in with the center by phone “But one person can only handle so much.” and a group of about five other people have been walking the neighborhood at night as part of a neighborhood watch who moved to Claremont four years ago with his wife and daughter believes they can no longer rely solely on police to intervene “We have to take care of our neighbors,” he said who owns his own roofing and construction business moved with his family from Connecticut to get away from the types of problems he now faces in his neighborhood He and his wife do not allow their daughter to walk to school alone once about two months ago and a second time about three weeks ago he has been sleeping on the couch so he will be able to hear what is going on in the street Roberts saw the man breaking into his truck on cameras he installed outside his home He went outside to find the man taking things from a truck that belongs to an elderly neighbor who has cancer Roberts said he stopped the thief and held him there until the police arrived is littered with refuse and an array of junk electrical appliances and soiled mattresses The occupants erected a wooden fence in the front of the property to provide some privacy though the debris remains visible from Royce Street the city filed a cease-and-desist order in District Court against Smith and Vire calling for the clean-up of the property as well as removal of the van which the city said is unregistered and inoperable Multiple attempts to reach Smith at her home were unsuccessful which regulates the maintenance of properties for the purpose of protecting health prohibits the storage of junk or dilapidated vehicles on residential properties though the registration needs to be renewed who met with residents and child care staff at a Police Commission meeting on Dec said he understands the frustrations expressed by neighbors about feeling unsafe Wilmot does not believe the neighborhood has become unsafe nor do statistics show that crime suddenly worsened or intensified neighbors are becoming more aware of activities due to the visibility of the problem on Front Street it becomes larger in magnitude,” Wilmot said “Residents are observing activity in the neighborhood and all types of behaviors are being noticed.” In addition to an ongoing police investigation City Manager Yoshi Manale said the city has filed several actions in court against Janice Smith such as the order filed in November to clean up the property The challenge with nuisance properties is that the process to address them can be slow which results in the city’s filings waiting for a hearing to be scheduled The city’s last two property cases took up to a year to resolve New Hampshire laws are generally more protective of individual property rights than some states so the enforcement tools available to municipalities are more limited as a lot of these rules (in New Hampshire) exist to protect property owners,” Manale said Nuisance ordinances are primarily intended to mitigate a problem not to seize properties or to evict tenants Manale explained that state law is designed to allow property owners an appropriate amount of time to address the complaints but the city is not going to give up on these orders Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603-727-3216 you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users We're looking for telephone ambassadors – learn more and apply today MONTREAL, October 8th - The Vire au vert coalition, made up of twenty one Quebec civil society organizations, is calling on the federal political parties represented in the House of Commons to commit to respecting the Quebec Environmental Consensus as they develop their respective political platforms for the upcoming federal election campaign There's nothing radical about what’s in the Consensus - the policies and principles are basic common sense,” said the members of the coalition to ensure that their proposals respect Quebec's environmental orientations By registering for our newsletter to stay informed about our initiatives you’re joining over 130,000 people who give us the political clout necessary to effect change TU Delft's latest news “With floating wind energy technology tested in hybrid labs we can radically scale up and speed up the use of offshore wind energy in the energy transition,” says Axelle Viré Full Professor of Floating Wind Energy at TU Delft in her inaugural speech on 16 February 2024 “But we can’t do it without new ways of working together in diverse teams across disciplines and sectors Inclusive leadership is the key to bringing these people together.” Viré will give her inaugural address on Friday 16 February 2024 at 15.00 in the Aula Congress Centre at TU Delft On that day the HybridLabs consortium she leads will also officially be launched Visitors are welcome to attend the address in Delft or watch a live stream or recording.  To meet climate goals we need 2.000 GW of offshore wind energy globally in 2050 At the moment almost all – in fact 99,6% - of offshore wind turbines are fixed to the seabed and that’s only possible in waters that are at most 60 metres deep A result is that shallower areas become very crowded but it’s also the natural habitat of animals a very busy transport route and used for fishing shallow areas and unlock the full potential of offshore wind energy we have to start using the 80% of all sea locations that are currently too deep for wind turbines.” The solution Axelle Viré and her colleagues research is floating wind energy but placed on floating structures that are moored to the seabed with lines That makes it possible to position them in areas with sea depths of up to 1000 metres In the future the turbines could even be cut loose from the sea bed entirely creating for example free-floating hydrogen factories Viré: “Floating wind turbines are massive structures Including the blade they can be 190 metres tall on floating structures half the size of the market square in Delft how can you control the dynamics when the platform and wind turbine are at the mercy of the waves?” To meet climate targets on time Viré also looks at ways to speed up innovation Viré: “We now use full-scale demonstration to test whether the technology actually works but at the moment there are only a handful of test sites worldwide and the clock is ticking we can skip full-scale demonstration completely and speed up development times.” A solution Viré came up with is the Floating Renewables Lab which combines physical experiments and numerical modelling to for example simulate wave loads in a wind tunnel or wind loads in a wave tank chaired by Axelle Viré and officially launched on the day of her address accelerates Dutch innovations in offshore renewable energy through data-driven hybrid labs Viré: "The scale of infrastructure and innovations in HybridLabs is unique We connect a wide range of labs and real offshore demonstration sites through smart data-driven methods." ways of testing alone are not enough to scale up and speed up the use of offshore wind energy “To come up with offshore wind technology that actually works in areas that are also used by other stakeholders and for other purposes we need to co-create that technology together from the start To make this really work we need to embrace inclusive leadership disciplines and interests are valued and taken seriously I believe the mindset we all need for this starts in learning communities where we empower people to be the best versions of themselves teach them to look beyond their bias and be open for other perspectives.” As Diversity Officer at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering Viré is a front runner on diversity and inclusion at TU Delft they are an integral part of creating technology that will really have impact for a better society.” Do you want to support our mission to bring wind energy to schools in Delft We need more (young) people working in the sector to speed up the energy transition We want to contribute to this cause by targeting schools and making learning materials and inspiring stories accessible to all children. You can contribute to this mission with your donations we will be able to send schools a package for their library containing: We will start the dissemination with primary and secondary schools in Delft and broaden the region to other cities until donations run out We hope to be able to provide all 59 schools in the Delft region with a package for their libraries and then move to the 218 schools in Den Haag and 295 schools in Rotterdam But our true ambition is to reach all the 7253 schools in the Netherlands and then move abroad Prof. Dr. Ir. A.C. (Axelle) Viré ✉ A.C.Vire@tudelft.nl Postbus 5 2600 AA Delft The Netherlands Contact and accessibility Vacancies Reading assistant BrowseAloud Intranet Student portal Donate Disclaimer Privacy & Security long and scrawny left-handed pitcher had yet to make his first high school varsity start yet his junior season had just been canceled in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic A strong entrance onto the Washington high school Class 4A stage could have positioned him as one of the region’s top high school arms He was uncertain — and nervous — about how pandemic shutdowns might impact his future being picked in the 2021 MLB Draft seemed like a long shot to the Vancouver the 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher became the only player from Washington picked straight out of high school in the 2021 MLB Draft when he was taken in the 12th round — 357th pick —by the Milwaukee Brewers He’s one of 10 Washington high school products to be selected in the 20-round draft which took place in Colorado in tandem with the MLB All-Star festivities The other five were selected out of college “I definitely did not expect to be in the position I’m in now” last year “It’s obviously just surreal and super exciting that I have this opportunity.” It sure helps that he had a shutdown senior high school season 74 strikeouts and a 4-0 record to help the Storm go 17-0 and win both 4A Greater St Starting — and dominating — on the high school stage led to a breakthrough in the way Vire approaches the game mentally “I but up a ton of confidence over this high school season,” he said “I’m kind of going and doing my thing now.” 1 to decide whether to sign with the Brewers or play college baseball at Arizona State He told SBLive he hasn't made a decision yet but there are several factors that point toward him leaning pro The Sun Devils fired their baseball coaching staff after the 2021 season Former ASU standout Willie Bloomquist was hired away from the Diamondbacks’ front office to replace outgoing coach Tracy Smith and pitching coach Jason Kelly left for LSU One read of the Brewers drafting Vire could signal its confidence in him signing “We’ve still got to work a couple things out,” Vire said Just gotta kind of wait it out and see what happens.” The top two Washington high school prospects in the draft Marysville Getchell outfielder Malakhi Knight and O’Dea right-handed pitcher Max Debiec were not selected Knight, a UCLA commit, withdrew his name from the draft after the first round and Debiec saw his draft stock change after he underwent Tommy John surgery in late June Debiec said he kept his name in the draft to see if a team would show investment in his recovery and development but none came through with his desired signing bonus Here are all of the 2021 MLB Draft picks who played high school baseball in Washington in order of selection: Round 6 (186th pick - $259,400 slot value) FEATURE:Caden Vire is realizing his potential on the mound. The scary part? ‘This is definitely not his ceiling’ ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTSAndy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings He has covered everything from the Final Four MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland © 2025 ABG-SI LLC - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Axelle Viré has been appointed Full Professor of Floating Wind Energy Viré will help grow TU Delft’s activities in the field of floating wind energy as “about eighty percent of the offshore wind resource is located in water depths inaccessible for conventional wind turbines.” Axelle Viré also chairs the faculty Personnel Committee and a member of the TU Delft wide energy transition accelerator team I feel honoured by the trust that the faculty and the university are giving me with this new role and I am excited to continue implementing my vision for our research in collaboration with our national and international partners.” Axelle Viré is also a very active member of the university community She chairs the faculty Personnel Committee and is the faculty’s Diversity Officer In that role she was one of the initiators of the Parental Fund that support parents in and around periods of maternity and parental leave As a Full Professor Axelle Viré feels even more responsibility: “I hope that my promotion will help inspire others and will contribute to sustainably increase diversity and inclusion in our organisation.” “They’re made entirely by hand and it takes five weeks from when the raw materials are received to when the final product is sold It’s a speciality that requires time and know-how” director and owner of the Jacky Leduc company could talk for hours about his andouilles de Vire He mentions proudly that this year they were awarded best real Vire andouilles by the Confrérie de la Véritable Andouille de Vire Read more: RECIPES: real French charcuterie of rabbit rillettes, pork liver pâté to ensure the survival of the most ancient charcuterie (prepared meat product) of Normandy whose smoked taste is distinctive “There is andouille and andouille,” says Philippe Quinton This produces its smoky taste and black colour “It’s a delicate operation: the wood can’t be too dry or too green “Everything depends on the smokehouse operator who has no gauge regulating temperature or humidity Read more: French food notes: The salty tale behind Jambon de Bayonne Deeply rooted in France and little consumed elsewhere from pork ‘ventrée’ (intestines and stomach) and usually smoked boudin or andouillette (small unsmoked version of andouille) and other staples of French charcuterie five great French chefs were asked to propose several possible menus for the meal for Heads of State French President François Hollande chose the one with Andouille de Vire Around 6,000 tonnes of andouilles are annually produced in France and there are almost as many varieties as there are regions are considered pillars of this French speciality their reputation extending far beyond their production area whose recipe appears in the Code des Usages de la Charcuterie the Bible of professional pork butchers in France is specifically composed of stomach (called ‘panse’) small intestine (‘menu’) and large intestine (‘chaudin’) the production process is similar: salting these andouilles look alike: a Guémené or a Vire weighs around 600 grams the two differ when sliced: the Vire has darker marbling and colour with the different entrails in its composition clearly visible whereas the Guémené has concentric circles the taste of the Guémené is stronger than the ‘Vire’ small and large intestine stuffed into a casing; Photo: Jacky Leduc Guémené has concentric circles made from just the large intestine; Photo: Rivalan-Quidu the charismatic owner of Maison de l’Andouille in order of diameter onto a ‘coeur’ made of thin strips “This creates the distinctive concentric circles of andouilles de Guémené.” “the casings are cut into strips and then stuffed in another casing called the robe,” explains Philippe Quinton or ‘green andouilles’ which are smoked for 15 days are ancestral: making andouilles is documented in France at least as early as the late Middle Ages The first known recipe is mentioned in 1393 in the Ménagier de Paris the famous manuscript on home and culinary economics As proof of their importance in French culture the 16th century writer François Rabelais immortalised them in Pantagruel’s adventures with the famous ‘War of the Andouilles’ the word ‘andouille’ has become part of everyday language and lightheartedly designates an imbecile or an idiot Read more: More polite ways to swear in French It’s found in the expressions ‘faire l’andouille’ (fool around) or ‘pris pour une andouille’ (taken for a fool) the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné nicknamed the politician Olivier Stirn former mayor of Vire and Parliament Member for Calvados ‘l’andouille de Vire’ (The idiot from Vire) during the award ceremony for the ‘Véritable andouille de Vire’ mischievously declared: “Anyone can make andouille [fool around] But making real andouille de Vire is another story!” Andouilles’ precious cultural heritage is no joking matter for the producers “We fight every day to preserve the traditional production methods,” says Philippe Quinton “The greatest reward is when people visit our workshops and say: ‘It reminds me of what our parents or grandparents used to make.’ If you eliminate the five-week manufacturing process and make your andouilles in an industrial cell Read more: ‘I fight for wine in French culture, heritage and economy’ Defending this quality has a price: around €40 per kilo “If you are offered a real andouille from Vire at €20 per kilo it isn’t a real andouille,” says Philippe Quinton who sells his andouilles in regional butcher shops and supermarkets but also in the shop next to his factory “This high price is partly due to low yields: when you buy 100 kg of pork belly there aren’t enough pig farms or slaughterhouses around Vire to supply production.” This is why Vire and Guémené andouilles don’t have the coveted PDO label and “Since we must source our pork from other regions we cannot guarantee regional or local origin of raw materials” other labels recognise our know-how and product’s quality.” Confronted with industrial manufacturers who import cheaper casings from Eastern Europe ready to cook and smoked in express tunnels has found a way to avoid confusion with industrial ‘Guémené’ by calling their own products ‘Andouilles de Guémené-sur-Scorff’ Benoît Rivalan also offers this valuable advice: “Beware of size Guémené andouille is eaten in buckwheat crêpes Andouille de Vire is often served with local products such as camembert or calvados and also goes well with salmon It is found in many fine restaurants of Brittany and Normandy chef of the Manoir de la Pommeraie restaurant has created a beef millefeuilles with andouille is tarte fine with Vire andouille and camembert only a few butchers or charcutiers making genuine andouille de Vire remain.In Guémené there’s a sustained demand for these local products Our mission is to convert people and let them taste a real Andouille de Vire so that they realise it’s a quality product.” Roquefort seeks exemption from French Nutri-Score label scheme Aligot: cheesy French comfort food famous for being remarkably stringy Meat substitute products can no longer use ‘meat’ terms, France rules Japanese pastry chef Mori Yoshida creates refined cakes and desserts Columnist Sue Adams gives her tips on how to get the best out of the long season in France Household favourites including courgettes and strawberries become commonplace this month 'Human Contact' (EP stream) / "Control You" (video) BY Sarah MurphyPublished Feb 10, 2015 Be the first to get our biggest stories delivered to your inbox. is doing away with boys’-club culture and changing the status quo Lanise Antoine Shelley is living proof that from darkness “I know that had the pandemic and racial unrest not happened,” says the new artistic director for the House Theatre of Chicago “I would not be in the position that I am in today at this particular institution.” Shelley was appointed to the role in March a year into the company’s forced dormancy caused by the pandemic She was chosen from among dozens of candidates to replace Nathan Allen and trained at Harvard and the British American Drama Academy Shelley arrived in Chicago in 2009 after five years as a company member at Milwaukee Rep Chicago audiences know her primarily as an actor — most recently in School Girls; Or which reopened the Goodman Theatre this summer — but she’s also expanded into playwriting and directing “I think every actor wants to take back their power in some way,” Shelley says “Just shifting their stance around the table is something that I think everyone considers.” Shelley hadn’t worked with the House before applying for the AD position — which is part of what makes her a radical choice to lead a company that’s had a reputation for insularity Once a whiz-kid troupe that staged inventive riffs on cultural touchstones like Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz by cultivating vibes that felt more like rock shows than traditional plays Like many other ensemble-based theaters in Chicago — Steppenwolf and Lookingglass being prominent examples — the House was formed by a cohort of college grads (in this case mostly from Southern Methodist University) who wanted to work together As with Steppenwolf and Lookingglass before them the House ensemble’s chumminess kept the group too homogeneous for too long “It was a boys’ club,” Shelley says bluntly and no one refutes that it was insular and exclusionary.” During the House’s first 10 years when it produced most of its scripts in-house writing credits were handed back and forth among male company members Even since the company began to produce work by outside playwrights it has staged only two plays by female writers Shelley notes that at the moment of her appointment “the company consisted of 52 people: 48 white and 30 men.” And given the troupe’s penchant for remounting its successful originals every few years “we would literally be regurgitating the same people the same perspective and stories,” she says amid that summer’s wave of Black Lives Matter protests and with theater artists and workers of color calling for accountability Allen released a statement apologizing for casting white actors as Asian and Indigenous roles in many of the company’s early plays perpetuating racist tropes in the writing of those characters and excluding artists of color for most of the House’s history Shelley has spent the bulk of her first months on the job implementing plans to shore up the House’s foundation: making antiracism training available adjusting budgets to allow for equitable pay “People are asking for diversity in creative teams “That is imperative for me going forward.” Shelley opens her first season with her own new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen and illusions designed by magician and founding company member Dennis Watkins the production promises to have the feel of a traditional House show Shelley’s version centers on the title character the change of the House’s culture from the boys’ club to  …” Shelley trails off DETAILS The Snow Queen Through Jan. 2. Chopin Theatre. Noble Square. $20–$50. thehousetheatre.com René Morales and a new team of curators hope to deepen the MCA’s ties with local artists I don’t think it is widely understood that Chicago is living through a golden era of artistic production,” says Madeleine Grynsztejn who has been the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago since 2008 it is Chicago that is home to the most impactful artwork being made in this country.” Grynsztejn delivers these blunt proclamations over the phone while wrangling family members at O’Hare two days before Thanksgiving having called me back 10 minutes after our agreed-upon time because she hadn’t yet made it through security Those circumstances lead me to believe these aren’t overly rehearsed sound bites The prompt for our conversation is the assembly of a new curatorial team for the MCA the museum had announced the appointment of René Morales and Jamillah James as chief curator and senior curator They are filling the top slots that were vacated by Michael Darling and Naomi Beckwith in January 2021 and assistant curator Jadine Collingwood — “a team that will manifest the best contemporary art museum of the 21st century,” as Grynsztejn describes it It seems to me like just such an incredibly rich and textured and multilayered city I’ve only just begun to penetrate the layers.” Morales was calling that same November day from Miami where he was until recently director of curatorial affairs and chief curator at Pérez Art Museum Miami he was raised in Miami and returned there in 2005 to work at PAMM (then known as the Miami Art Museum) after several years in the Northeast where he earned his master’s degree in art history at Brown University and later worked at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum One of Morales’s guiding principles at PAMM was strengthening the museum’s ties with local artists — a practice he intends to carry over to the MCA “Fostering deeper relationships with the local art community has always been a major priority,” he says “Not just in the literal sense of presenting their work or acquiring their work for the collection “I’ve always been skeptical of the idea of importing some sort of curatorial vision from outside and layering it on top of a community—a vision that could work whether it’s Australia or São Paulo or Israel or Warsaw Morales says he thinks of local artists as one of the primary audiences for his work as a curator: “You know sometimes among the great things that you can do for an artist who lives in your city is present work from outside of that city that they relate to and that provides new directions Something that I’ve found super gratifying — this is a rarer thing but it has happened — is connecting [Miami-based artists] with curators and collectors who live outside of Miami That’s a very important steppingstone for artists to build a reputation and a following beyond their city limits.” It was a prior visit to Chicago via the MCA for a contemporary curators’ conference organized by Beckwith that opened Morales’s eyes to the possibilities here “It was during that trip that I got a particularly vivid sense of how vibrant the art community is,” he says “and the potential role of the MCA in helping that community thrive and prosper.” Oliver Hurdle wins the Totnes Vire stage race overall; Bradley Symonds Thomas Day and Conor McGoldrick the stage winners Stage 3 of this weekend’s Totnes Vire event was won by Conor McGoldrick followed closely by Ben Millar in second place Oliver Hurdle placed first in GC with Ben Millar and Jacques Coates taking second and third place TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need A Penn Hills man who police say opened fire on a family member in a Giant Eagle parking lot has been arrested was arrested by sheriff’s detectives in connection with the Dec shooting and taken to Allegheny County Jail A bench warrant had been issued for Vire after a county judge ruled that he had violated terms of his bond Vire faces charges including aggravated assault making terroristic threats and firearms charges Sheriff’s detectives learned that Vire had been staying in a Duff Road home in Penn Hills When detectives arrived at the residence Tuesday Vire previously was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison on firearms charges for his role in a December 1998 home invasion He served 10 years in prison and was released Dec according to a state Department of Corrections spokesperson Vire also served for two years on an aggravated assault charge the Department of Corrections spokesperson said Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service The committee announced potential winners of the 2018 Equity Awards earlier this week honoring the best theater in Chicago as deemed by a volunteer committee made the inclusive move this year to eliminate the gender binary in its performance categories No longer will the nominations be divided into actors and actresses; instead each category for principal and supporting role will consist of one pool — representing all genders So color me surprised when the nominations for the 2018 Equity Jeff Awards were announced yesterday: the list has more overall nominations for men and fewer for women than in 2017 The Jeffs first decided to go gender neutral earlier this year for the 2018 Non-Equity awards and it did nominate at least one actor who openly identifies as nonbinary (The committee produces two ceremonies annually: for productions that work under Actors’ Equity union contracts and for those that don’t.) With more and more performers on Chicago stages identifying as nonbinary the awards committee saw a need to address this gender diversity in both of its events According to a spokesperson, the committee will reevaluate the policy in two years These complaints often point to the demographic makeup of the Jeff committee The committee needs to make good on its promises to diversify to better reflect the makeup of the field it’s appointed itself to judge And it’s disappointing — and feels annoyingly inevitable — that this year’s policy change initially seems to be placing women and nonbinary folks at a disadvantage one year’s nominations isn’t much of a data set whether it’s fully intentional or not is actually setting an example for other awards to follow We live in a world in which nonbinary individuals are more visible than ever Grammys, and Emmys are going to have to reckon with how they categorize gender The Jeff Awards are joining the anti-stodgy likes of the MTV Movie and TV Awards which earned praise for going genderless in 2017 And it’s hard to imagine the Jeffs reversing course in two years’ time; the way to address the Oscars’ woeful track record of honoring female directors isn’t to create a new category for Best Female Director The danger, for the Jeff Awards in particular, is that Chicago theater has long shown a tendency to elevate a certain kind of masculine energy — the macho, manic, Mametian mode that came to be known as “the Chicago style” when Steppenwolf Theatre started exporting it in the ’80s Leveling the playing field for performers is a good first step but it will have to go hand-in-hand with an end to centering this kind of male “gravitas” in the stories we celebrate Tags: , Totnes-Vire 2Day winner Gabriel Dellar (Stolen Goat RT) is flanked by runner-up Charlie Meredith (Mid-Devon CC) and Dellar's teammate Thomas Heal (pic Martin Smith) One second – that’s all that separated winner Gabriel Dellar from Mid-Devon CC’s Charlie Meredith after a riveting two days of competition in the annual Totnes-Vire Stage Race shadowed comeback man Meredith throughout a high-speed fourth and final stage at Paignton’s Torbay Velopark on Sunday And although Meredith won the bunch sprint it still wasn’t quite enough to snatch overall victory for the host club’s No.1 who is rebuilding his career after several years away from the sport He won the opening nine-mile Time Trial stage at Hatherleigh by eight seconds from Dellar but then paid the price for bravely pulling back a two-minute gap to one of Dellar’s teammates in the Stage Two road race around Jacobstowe This year’s Totnes-Vire featured a successful revival of the Oddicombe Hill Climb for Stage Three powering up the steep half-mile climb in one minute 59secs where Dellar just managed to stave off Meredith’s final bid for victory The Oddicombe HC also featured a programme of Junior age-group competitions and a ‘have-a-go’ session for anyone brave enough to tackle the lung-bursting ascent One standout effort came from MDCC’S Under-16 Edward Fraille-Whysall who clocked 2mins 14secs – only 15 seconds slower than Dellar Six people who came forward with stories of harassment at the theatre There’s a quote Emily Trask likes to refer back to and has kept it close throughout her 16-year career She quoted it to me over the phone from memory: Since telling her own story in November to the Houston Chronicle—a story of abuse and bullying at the hands of Gregory Boyd then artistic director of the Alley Theatre which led to a public outcry and a company-wide investigation—Silko’s quote has taken on new meaning for Trask even the ones that are really hard to tell even the ones that have a cost—I believe that is deep medicine Trask wouldn’t call herself a “hero” or “brave” for quitting the Alley Theatre (“my dream job”) then going public about her experiences there (she reported verbal abuse and inappropriate touching) so that they don’t walk into an unsafe work environment “But ultimately we decided it was more important that it became public than if we got compensated for it.” Trask said she knew that speaking out would negatively affect her career. Since January, when the Chronicle article broke, she’s been laying low; she deleted her social media accounts and moved to Philadelphia. When we spoke on the phone, she was getting ready to move again, to Santa Maria, Calif., to take a full-time position at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts This is a fortuitous turn for Trask, who saw acting opportunities dry up after the Chronicle article. Before she’d been a working actor, having played a lead in Shakespeare in Love at Baltimore Center Stage; at the Alley she’d been a company member for two years she found herself at auditions where casting directors would recognize her name from the news reports but it’s usually a kind of withdrawing,” she said “It’s like the world knowing a deeply personal thing about you before they even meet you.” To get by for the past six months She also accrued significant debt (“more than my grad school debt”); she was itinerant for the 10 months between leaving Houston and settling in Philadelphia When she saw the news that Boyd had received a $383,000 severance for retiring Though Boyd is no longer employed at the Alley Trask admitted that she still has nightmares about “being attacked” by him The entire experience has left her confidence “in limbo.” What’s helped pull her out of purgatory is the opportunity to teach a young group of artists at PCPA “Getting to teach and work with the next generations of theatre artists and help them develop a kind of self-advocacy and good operating practices that even on the good days this field treads in—that’s what’s keeping me going,” she said she’s hoping to teach young actors how to advocate for themselves if they’re ever in a hostile environment and “how to deal with people when they might not be using their best operating practices and they’re not being professional,” she said “It starts with a kind of self-knowledge and realizing—especially as a woman in the theatre where you’re a dime a dozen and there’s all kinds of social BS put on you—that your voice counts that your artistic thoughts are valid.” Let the stories be told Each week when theatre director Kim Rubinstein goes to acupuncture and physical therapy, her body reminds her of something she’d rather not recall: that Gordon Edelstein, the former artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre harassed and physically assaulted her multiple times between 2003 and 2007 when she was associate artistic director at the theatre “I tend to take emotional things very physically in my body,” Rubinstein said by phone from San Diego, where she teaches acting and directing at the University of California-San Diego “I am not able to sustain a physical relationship I disassociate.” She estimates that to date she’s spent around $100,000 on physical and trauma therapy Rubinstein said she’s frustrated with the way even many well-meaning #MeToo narratives are told “The focus is still on the perpetrator and not on the people that this happens to,” she said “How about the fact that the women’s careers have been altered if not ruined?” Rubinstein recalled that in 2007 But when she reported Edelstein to the board of the Long Wharf and they chose not to fire him he seemed to retaliate by no longer hiring her to direct at the theatre not wanting to socialize with other theatre people When UCSD came knocking, she accepted the teaching position they offered and moved West—as she described it, “into exile.” Not that she’s been idle: She’s directed at such theatres as the Old Globe, San Diego Rep, and the Odyssey in Los Angeles Rubinstein realized she couldn’t stay quiet Has going public helped Rubinstein rebuild her confidence “I don’t even know if it is rebuilt,” she said One happy discovery: With the secret weight lifted off her she feels that her own artistry has deepened “My work as a director has leapt forward in a way I didn’t expect,” she explained as if free at last.” She recently directed How to Defend Yourself at UCSD a play by Lily Padilla about sexual assault Instead of being triggering for Rubinstein it ended up being a “fascinating experience,” she said allowing her to examine the subject from all points of view “What I’ve been holding in my body is being released through the work and through my work with students in the classroom,” Rubinstein said As she traces her own trauma and its effects on her artistry she also makes sure that her students have the right tools to safely tap into their own vulnerability and personal experiences without feeling exploited I’ve spent much more time with the students helping them to stand in their name “So we can go real far into vulnerable places and passions and the depths of human experience and conflict But I am spending equal amount of time teaching them to come back and how to stand in the world with clear eyes and a sense of their own voice.” But for the women who went on the record for the Reader, the way forward since then hasn’t been so clear. One of those women, Claire Wellin spoke recently about the aftermath of the story and about the changes she’d still like to see at the institutional level Wellin acted in Profiles’ 2010 production of Tracy Letts’s Killer Joe which won critical acclaim and awards for its realistic violence But as the Reader stories of Cox’s real-life physical and psychological abuse of his fellow actors on that and other productions revealed the boundaries between staged and actual abuse at Profiles were regularly crossed Wellin’s path out of that experience took her to New York in 2013 to join the cast of Broadway’s Once She also did the show’s national tour for two years but these days she focuses more on writing and performing her own music including in the “ghost folk” band Youth in a Roman Field and with indie rockers San Fermin you have to be okay with not having agency in your own career and life,” Wellin said philosophically “Some people have a passion and a talent that is so wonderful that they want to do what it takes to get to that place where you do have that power nor did I like waiting for people to cast me or take a chance on me.” The Reader’s Profiles exposé hit more than a year before the wave of high-profile stories about sexual abuse in Hollywood and beyond when I hear about a news story specifically about #MeToo and sexual harassment But that rage is balanced with Wellin’s desire for greater accountability at theatre institutions. She refers to an incident recounted in the Reader piece—a closed-door meeting with Actors’ Equity in Chicago in April 2015—that left several of the participants “I had friends in New York who read the Reader article and who asked me ‘Why didn’t you go to Equity?’ We did go to Equity,” she said Wellin was particularly disturbed that Cox was working with underage actors in Profiles’ 2016 production of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem—the theatre’s final show as it turned out—even after that meeting with Equity (Equity spokeswoman Maria Somma declined to comment for the Reader article which noted that many of the incidents occurred before Profiles became an Equity member.) at a certain point just becomes a power play,” said Wellin because it turns out that most of the people who are in positions of power are white men.” “This relates to economics and how we value art in the United States and how creative people get paid where you’re making sacrifices that include moral and safety sacrifices to ‘make it.’” Wellin thinks the way forward involves a combination of “encouraging independence and also holding people’s feet to the fire who have power in these institutions.” But she also said “We need to leave room for people to learn and change and grow along the curve without shutting down the people who are trying to do better.” Referencing the recent accusations of abuse against former New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman No survivor gets anything from coming forward we have to change it on a very personal level Laura Stearns Adams is wig master at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. When we met she had just wrapped up creating wigs for West Side Story and was turning her attention to The Legend of Georgia McBride which presented her with the quandary of how to get an actor into full drag hair and makeup in two minutes flat Pro tip: Magnetic eyelashes would play a huge role Stearns Adams was drawn to the world of theatre from a very early age. When she was 11, she saw a production of Good Morning, Mr. Tilly at the nearby Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) “‘I wanna be up there,’” she remembered thinking By the time she turned 15, Stearns Adams was enrolled in CTC’s conservatory school, where she has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Jason McLean, then a 28-year-old instructor. In December 2015, 32 years later, she filed a lawsuit against McLean Stearns Adams said she felt encouraged to go public because of Minnesota’s Child Victims Act which gives adults over the age of 24 who experienced abuse as children a three-year window to sue for damages in a civil court four more women came forward and filed their own lawsuits against McLean CTC has since been participating in a mediation process and has recently instituted more stringent rules around interactions between adults and children Meanwhile, McLean sold off his Minneapolis properties and fled to Mexico, where he reportedly bought a property there valued at around $1.5 million. Last year a judge entered a “default judgment” against McLean in the amount of $2.5 million after he failed to appear for court dates “There’s no way he’s ever going to own this,” said Stearns Adams Sharing her story with so many people has “awoken the advocate” in her whether they’re personally experiencing harassment or assault or witnessing it “Bystanders need to feel empowered to step in and advocate.” While Stearns Adams recognizes that harassment and assault happen in every industry she sees theatre as especially prone to uncertain boundaries “We will stretch ourselves in ways that other people don’t in other industries,” she said She added that nowhere are we formally taught how to maintain and respect boundaries or that we even can and should maintain certain boundaries To move forward and maintain the momentum of the #MeToo movement Stearns Adams said she would like to see more institutions having these conversations and employing practices that promote everyone’s safety in part in response to internal complaints (see below) and Stearns Adams recently participated in a similar conversation with the Guthrie’s BFA acting students Stearns Adams now feels she’s moved into the light I feel like I have the right to be out loud.” Molly Diers has known that she wanted to make a life in the theatre since she was 12 “I was an Andrew Lloyd Webber dork when I was a kid,” she recalled “There’s something about live theatre that touches a part of my soul and I want to be a part of it.” After 10 years freelancing as a theatre carpenter in her hometown of Minneapolis she thought she’d finally made it when she landed a position at the town’s flagship theatre But the dream didn’t match reality. In January, after years of filing unresolved complaints about harassment by male coworkers at the scene shop, Diers resigned and wrote a long Facebook post charging her supervisor The theatre soon launched a company-wide investigation and recently released findings which found instances of sexist comments and inappropriate touching though it didn’t substantiate all of Diers’s allegations Diers also filed formal charges with Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights and with the National Labor Relations Board Diers sounded somber but resolute about her ongoing tussle with the Guthrie “I know some people in the building have said that I’m in it for the money,” she says “I didn’t ask for money.” Hiring a lawyer and being a freelancer is “so much harder” than working full-time at the Guthrie but she admitted that it’s been “rough.” A job at the Guthrie means a living wage and health insurance while “most small theatres pay $16-$18 an hour How do you take that step backward in your career?” She said she’s thinking of leaving theatre; in February she was a builder for the set of the Super Bowl halftime show “It depends on the day,” she said with a sigh Other days I feel more empowered and more like change is a real possibility It’s just been a roller coaster up and down.” She added that having supportive friends and family has helped Her biggest regret will be if there is no change at the Guthrie she said; she felt secure in her seniority at the company and wanted to make sure her younger female colleagues were heard “I don’t want other women to give up their careers,” she says “I have an inbox full of messages about people who quit theatre Women and people of color walk away from it all the time because it’s not inclusive.” what would foster better company culture is simple: for men to listen to women with openness “Not all men intend to be creepy,” she said ‘I’m going to say what I want,’ then we’ve got a problem I shouldn’t have said that,’ we can work on it I don’t expect men to be perfect when they walk through the building Though it may seem counterintuitive for its small-town setting in central Decatur, Ill., Millikin University “is really a school that prioritizes the performing arts,” said Tom Robson, associate professor of theatre and dance at the school the largest department on Millikin’s campus with majors comprising around 15 percent of the student body—about 270 this fall out of 1,700 total undergrads very common to be walking down a hallway and see somebody practicing a dance combination outside their math classroom It’s just kind of what we are,” said Robson who’s been on the faculty at Millikin since 2011 when universities nationwide are really cutting their arts programming Robson, 38, grew up in the Philadelphia area, where he followed his interest in theatre into a kids’ camp at the venerable People’s Light & Theatre he was invited to audition for A Christmas Carol and ended up playing the young Ebenezer Scrooge “They used me for three years on Carol and one year on Peter Pan,” Robson recalled Robson went on to major in theatre at Grinnell College in Iowa where he realized that “acting was not my strongest suit.” Instead he discovered passions for theatre history and dramaturgy that he would later continue to follow in academia “I did some work as an undergrad with some weird obscure plays that I found really fascinating and wanted to spend more time getting to explore those,” he said “I was fairly certain that there weren’t a lot of professional theatre environments where that weird two-hander from New Zealand was going to find a home but I can explore that in the classroom if I want to.” But after graduating from Grinnell in 2002 Robson wanted to gain some real world experience before pursuing his master’s and Ph.D (both of which he later completed at Indiana University) He encourages his current students to do the same: “Don’t go straight into grad school Take a few years to learn how to be a human being.” It was while working professionally in Chicago that he had the experience he described in a string of tweets on Nov. 2 of last year: In 2003, he was an intern at Writers Theatre in Glencoe serving as assistant director and dramaturg on a production of Crime and Punishment he experienced sexual harassment by Writers founder and artistic director Michael Halberstam in the form of inappropriate comments and touching he said only that “the last eight months have been challenging and overwhelming—in ways both difficult and really wonderful.” Robson said he hopes to leave the industry in a better state for his students and to inspire them the way others inspired his young self “One of the very first things I did after I defended my doctorate is I found my old director from Christmas Carol but 20 years ago you cast me in A Christmas Carol