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Why Acting Matters

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John Gielgud and Dolly Haas in a Broadway production of "Crime and Punishment"

Film critic David Thomson has written a book that tackles this question: Does acting matter? Put another way, when economies struggle, wars explode, and climate change looms, what’s the value of the performing arts? Thomson thinks acting is important, but not because it tries to be realistic. Acting matters, he says, because it empowers us to escape reality, and to exalt and despair over it. Thomson joins us to examine the methods and genius of the great actors and to explore how we all perform every day. (Rebroadcast)

David Thomson is the author of more than 20 books, including The Biographical Dictionary of Film and biographies of Warren Beatty, Orson Welles, and David O. Selznick. His latest book is called Why Acting Matters [Amazon|Indiebound].

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.