Articles written by Michael Bettencourt - Page 4

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About me - Michael Bettencourt

Michael Bettencourt is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His A QUESTION OF COLOR won an Ostrander award in Memphis (TN) for Best Original Script in July 2005. IN THE FORT chosen was a Selected Script by Inner Voices. In 2004 he won Boston Theatre

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Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Balancing democracy and the free market: 1 of 6
WHY CONSERVATIVES SHOULD FEAR THE MARKETConservatives have a touching faith in the magic of the market to bring a new Eden to our troubled land, that applying the market to the ills that afflict us will increase our choices, improve individual liberty, and reduce the role of government in our daily lives - a pretty concise su... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Human understanding: 5 of 28
HUBBLE ON THE FRONT PORCHFor a long time I lived in Manchester, NH, and one of my roostings took me to the predominantly French-Canadian West Side. In this particular apartment, I could sit on my porch three stories above the street and catch a strong breeze and a good shot of sunset light. Off to my right Rock Rimmon cliff h... More..
Arts & Humanities > English Language Should English be the official language in the USA?: 10 of 55
I have always thought that the movement to make English the country's "official" language is misguided, in part because it has never clearly stated what making a language "official" really means? Does anyone really know?One test of an idea's coherence is to imagine what will happen when people act the idea out. If English wer... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Where writers find inspiration: 6 of 33
JIGGING AND REELINGPerhaps such a situation does not arrive in every artist's life, but I would bet that it does, in some key, major or minor, at some length, brief or protracted: that situation of wondering just what living as an artist means. For me, right now, this situation frames itself this way: after a decade of dedica... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: The theater: 1 of 5
BY DESIGNI work for the Salvadori Center, an educational not-for-profit that uses the design of the built environment for an interdisciplinary project-based study of math, science, social studies, language, art, and technology. By "built environment," we mean not only tunnels, bridges, and skyscrapers but also the systems - c... More..
Arts & Humanities > Theater & Drama How the theater has been used to promote social change: 1 of 5
Raising ConsciousnessOn a playwright's listserv where I lurk, the contributors recently had a set-to about whether plays and playwrights should raise the consciousness of their audiences/readers. They skirmished and parried and feinted, with factions arguing yes and no, for and against, and so on and so on, but in essence, th... More..
Arts & Humanities > Playwrights & Plays Exploring Medieval drama: 1 of 5
THE MYSTERIESIn 2004 I had the pleasure of seeing (twice) The Mysteries, produced by the Classic Stage Company in New York, and conceived and directed by Brian Kulick, CSC's then-new artistic director. Kulick had taken plays from the York and Wakefield Cycles of medieval mystery plays (adapted by Tony Harrison) and tossed in ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics, News & Issues (Other) Ideas for combating voter apathy: 6 of 29
NONE OF THE ABOVEIt's circus time again as we get closer to the next presidential election. The problem is, fewer and fewer people really care about watching the clowns. People have been made so politically crazed by the tummlers barking for their support and the tupenny-upright character of their appeals. Some propose campai... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Plane flights: 3 of 14
THE SHUTTLE TO NEW YORKFlying away over the city,the long gut nerved by electricity -each street a tracer bullet,each streetlamp a drop of flame.The unpetaled glow fading away on the horizonis a pool of beaconlight and x-ray,calling for incision and return,shut mind shot open bythe phosphor burn of the city's caliber,the flin... More..
Jobs & Careers > Education Jobs Teachers: Why do we want to teach?: 8 of 36
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLYThis essay was written to my students who had asked me why I became an English teacher.I am a teacher of English. Everyone I know has asked me, at least once, why I torture myself trying to teach the most indifferent, the least alive, the most yahoo-ish of people - high school adolescents. A good questio... More..