Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Association for Graduates in Theatre (AGIT) and the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University announced its third annual AGIT Lab, a showcase of experimental works by Cornell graduates. This year's AGIT Lab puts its focus on solo performance. The evening is divided into two-forty minute pieces: Speaking Out of Turn: a Feminist Story Circle and Kids (a Glimpse of SHADE).

Speaking Out of Turn is an ensemble-based solo performance featuring seven women from varied backgrounds. During the course of the performance, each woman provides a snapshot into her life while the group provides support for her narrative. Speaking Out of Turn uses traditional oral history story-telling and incorporates movement, soundscapes, and performance into the backdrop.

Kitchen Theatre Company is pleased to announce a new show in their Judith Holliday Lobby Gallery: Keepers Of the Sky: New Paintings by Nicholas Gecan. Gallery Night, Friday, April 1st will be the official opening of this exhibit. The public is welcome between 5pm and 7:30pm. There is a performance of the play Dancing Lessons at 8pm that evening. Some tickets are still available.

"We are thrilled to have Nicholas Gecan's work back at Kitchen Theatre Company," says Artistic Director, Rachel Lampert. "It is exciting to see this series, as it is so different from his first show with us. We are always grateful that we have such talented visual artists in our community to add to the experience of coming to the theater-not only to see a play, but also enjoy wonderful paintings."

Aurora, New York—The Wells College Theatre and Dance Department proudly presents The Next Journey: Faculty Dance Concert 2016. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, in Phipps Auditorium of Macmillan Hall on the Wells College campus in Aurora, N.Y. Admission is free and open to the public. An annual favorite, this year's concert features a range of new and repertory work by Wells dance faculty choreographers Jeanne Goddard and Tucker Davis and special guest artist Julie Nathanielsz, performed by the 18 students of the Wells College Dance Ensemble.

Tucker Davis, lecturer in dance, will premier "Microspheres," an exploration of construction, deconstruction and boundaries created especially for the Wells College Dance Ensemble and set to the music of Philip Glass. Davis says about his choreography, "I am working from the point of view that there is no beginning or ending to the process of perception, and that we often create illusions of the finite to satisfy our need for order and hierarchical thinking."

Rachel LampertKitchen Theatre Company Artistic Director Rachel Lampert has informed the Board of Directors that the 2016-2017 / 26th Season will be her final season at the theater.

"Next season will be my twentieth as Artistic Director, and I feel that is a milestone and an appropriate time to start new endeavors - my third act. I wanted to be sure the Board of Directors had ample time to find the next Artistic Director, so I have let them know of my plans," says Lampert. Lampert's tenure has been marked by Kitchen Theatre Company's evolution from a struggling upstart to an established cultural center for Ithaca, Tompkins County and Central New York. She has championed the work of artists of color, women and LGBTQ writers, directors and actors. As a producer, she is recognized for her savvy ability to choose seasons that keep subscribers returning while provocatively pushing the envelope and always maintaining the core mission that "important conversations happen in the Kitchen."
 

FitzandStartz Productions continues its inaugural season in March 2016 with an original musical for all ages. I Have a Song to Sing, O! features book by Rachel Lampert and music by Gilbert & Sullivan. I Have a Song to Sing, O! runs for four performances only: Saturday, March 26 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM, and Saturday, April 2 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM. All performances will be held at Kitchen Theatre Company.

Meet the Corcoran family: Cameron (Aundre Seals), Cadence (Karen Dumont), Cameron's mother Corinna (Percy Browning) charming children Carrington, Calypso, Cadwyn, Calliope, and the youngest, Bob (Connor Briggs, Jewell Payne, Blythe Hodgson, Kii Kinsella). It's perfectly normal for them to get up every morning, have breakfast, get ready for their day and sing Gilbert and Sullivan songs every step of the way. This would be perfect if only the Corcoran's landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Snivel (Stephen Nunley and Lesley Greene), who live downstairs, were not total music haters! How can the music continue? Well, it's up to some clever singing from actors and audience.

The Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University is co-sponsoring Human Again (April 14-16 at 7:30 p.m.), an Auburn Public Theater production based on the work of the Phoenix Players Theatre Group, directed by Professor Bruce Levitt. This unique production outside of the prison walls will include actors performing original material written by the men of PPTG interwoven with video of the incarcerated performers.

Human Again is a production based on the work and experiences of the members of the Phoenix Players Theatre Group, a program developed by and for incarcerated persons and communities in a maximum-security prison. The troupe uses a variety of theatre techniques and exercises to create an expressive and therapeutic space that allows incarcerated people to reconnect with their humanity and undergo self-discovery. By taking an artistic route, the Phoenix Players express themselves and grapple with their past experiences through acting – the mirroring of life as experienced and narrated by others.

Photo by Kathryn MorrisMary Poppins, everyone's favorite nanny, will sing and dance her way across the Ithaca High School stage April 8-10. Full of magic and fun, Mary Poppins is all about finding joy in life, a message guaranteed to appeal to all ages.

Obsessed with work, George Banks' (Ben Salomon) connection to his family is in trouble. Winifred's (Erin Hilgartner) efforts as wife and mother aren't working. The children, Jane (Gigi Weislogel) and Michael (Clare Weislogel), are desperate for love and attention. When the magical Mary Poppins (Elisheva Glaser) blows in on the east wind, she is more than just a "practically perfect" nanny: she's the catalyst who can heal this fractured British family. Jack-of-all-trades Bert (Howard Kraskow) offers help as well, as narrator and friend.

The event matches local celebrities with Kitchen Theatre Company professional dancers and choreographers who prepare exhibition dances and raise money through sponsorship of friends and supporters. Months of planning and rehearsals culminate in an evening of performances, food, drink and dancing for all to the music of Little Joe and the Big Shots. Individual sponsorship of dancers, ticket sales, business sponsorships and this year a live auction add to the total revenue raised to support the theater. This year nearly 400 people supported dancers with donations. Kitchen Theatre Company's stage was filled to capacity with supporters dancing and celebrating this event.

"There is so much community support. For the fourth year, CFCU Community Credit Union was our Lead Corporate Sponsor. Other sponsors include: Cayuga Medical Center; Cornell University Hospital for Animals; CSP Management; King Ferry Winery; Travis Hyde Properties; Karen Eldridge, Licensed Real Estate Broker, Realty USA; and Dianne and Jim Orcutt. Without this kind of community support we wouldn't be able to accomplish the work that we do," said Managing Director, Stephen Nunley.

Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County, Inc. is sponsoring a one night only screening of a new documentary film on prescription drug addiction and recovery in Vermont.  The Hungry Heart will be shown on Monday, March 21st from 5pm-7pm at Cinemapolis.  Director, Bess O'Brien will take questions after the screening. Come and be part of an important conversation about this important issue.

The Hungry Heart was honored by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin during his January State of the State in which he devoted his entire speech to the opiate epidemic in Vermont. Since the Governor's ambitious initiative to deal with the rising prescription drug and heroin addiction in Vermont, The Hungry Heart  has been featured on many national press and media outlets including the ABC Evening News, The New York Times, Al Jazeera television, The Boston Globe, NPR's On Point, WBUR's Radio Boston and MSNBC.

It's easy for two people to live for years in the same New York City building just two floors apart and never lay eyes on each other, much less engage in conversation. So, when science professor Ever Montgomery knocks on out-of-commission dancer Senga Quinn's door to ask for a dance lesson, they meet as total strangers.

Each of them has challenges: she has isolated herself in her apartment while she tries to deal with an injury that might end her career, and he has Asperger's Syndrome, making social interactions extremely difficult. Ever is required to attend an event where social dance is required, and Senga is popping painkillers and has little empathy or interest.

The New Roots Rock Band will perform at the Dryden Community Cafe on Friday, March 25th from 7-9pm. The show, which starts at 7:30, is free and open to the public.

With a repertoire that includes songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, The Jackson Five, Evanescence, AC/DC and more, the New Roots Rock Band (NRRB) is not your typical high school ensemble. Students select the music for the group and, under the guidance of Music Director David Ferreira, work tirelessly to learn new songs and rehearse for their public performances. Students learn the ins and outs of performing in a popular music ensemble, including effective arranging and rehearsing, live sound reinforcement, sound checking, booking, promotions, and recording. NRRB incorporates a broad range of musical instruments and student talents in this 16-piece Rock Ensemble, including a cello, baritone sax, and violin.

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