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Mike Nichols was an ultimate Hollywood insider who won every major show business award directing for stage, film and TV. But his life in America began as an immigrant from Germany. Nichols was honored with an AFI Life Achievement Award in June 2010.

Mike Nichols was an ultimate Hollywood insider who won every major show business award directing for stage, film and TV. But his life in America began as an immigrant from Germany. Nichols was honored with an AFI Life Achievement Award in June 2010. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI hide caption

itoggle caption Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

Performing Arts

Mike Nichols, Award-Winning Director Of 'The Graduate,' 'Silkwood,' Dies

Mike Nichols was an ultimate Hollywood insider who won every major show business award directing for stage, film and TV. But his life in America began as an outsider immigrant from Germany.

"I think all this tidiness isn't doing us any good. It just spills out anyway" — Sarah Jones

"I think all this tidiness isn't doing us any good. It just spills out anyway" — Sarah Jones James Duncan Davidson/TED hide caption

itoggle caption James Duncan Davidson/TED

TED Radio Hour

Sarah Jones: What's The Line Between Stereotyping, Celebrating Culture?

Playwright and performer Sarah Jones has a chameleon-like ability to change personas. Through these personas, she explores the fine line between stereotyping and celebrating different ethnic groups.

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BASETRACK Live incorporates photographs, videos and interviews to tell the story of warfare, both at home and abroad.

BASETRACK Live incorporates photographs, videos and interviews to tell the story of warfare, both at home and abroad. Courtesy of En Garde Arts hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of En Garde Arts

U.S.

Veterans Voices Multitracked, Overdubbed, Amplified Through An Actor

A new multimedia stage production, led by a Juilliard composer and an Iraq veteran who took up acting, hopes to help struggling soldiers battle post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Adam Driver starred in Tracks, This Is Where I Leave You and What If — all out this year. He says there are surprising similarities between two of his other biggest roles, on HBO's Girls and in the new Star Wars film. "If you think about breaking it down into moments ... and making them make sense as much as possible, it's actually not that far off," he says.

Adam Driver starred in Tracks, This Is Where I Leave You and What If — all out this year. He says there are surprising similarities between two of his other biggest roles, on HBO's Girls and in the new Star Wars film. "If you think about breaking it down into moments ... and making them make sense as much as possible, it's actually not that far off," he says. Terry Richardson. hide caption

itoggle caption Terry Richardson.

Movies

Actor's Calendar: 'Girls,' 'Star Wars,' Taking Theater To The Military

Adam Driver is famous for his role in HBO's Girls and his major (and mysterious) part in the next Star Wars film. Less famous: The former Marine's nonprofit organization, Arts in the Armed Forces.

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Edgar Degas' Little Dancer Aged Fourteen is on display at the National Gallery of Art until Jan. 11.

Edgar Degas' Little Dancer Aged Fourteen is on display at the National Gallery of Art until Jan. 11. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon/ Courtesy of the National Gallery hide caption

itoggle caption Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon/ Courtesy of the National Gallery

'Little Dancer' Musical Imagines The Story Behind Degas' Mysterious Muse

Ballerina Marie Van Goethem started modeling for Edgar Degas around 1878 and inspired his statue Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. But history lost track of her after she left the Paris Opera.

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Young Mike (Joseph Carlson) antagonizes Mike (Michael Patrick Thornton) during a physical therapy session with Jerry (James Whalen).

Young Mike (Joseph Carlson) antagonizes Mike (Michael Patrick Thornton) during a physical therapy session with Jerry (James Whalen). Stan Barouh/Olney Theatre Center hide caption

itoggle caption Stan Barouh/Olney Theatre Center

Play, Ball: A Theatrical Look At The 'Beauty And Brutality' Of Football

In the new play Colossal, a former football player, paralyzed after taking a bad hit during a game, reflects on his glory days and his struggles as a gay man in the macho culture of football.

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Alex Sharp stars as 15-year-old Christopher in the theater adaptation of Mark Haddon's 2003 novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Alex Sharp stars as 15-year-old Christopher in the theater adaptation of Mark Haddon's 2003 novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Courtesy of Joan Marcus hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Joan Marcus

The Unadaptable 'Curious Incident' Gets A Stage Adaptation

Author Mark Haddon never imagined The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time would work as a play — he judged his writing by its unadaptability. But now it is one, and critics are loving it.

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