Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Hangar Theatre announces the fall performances of Back to the Garden, a musical tribute to folk-rock trailblazers Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Laura Nyro, as a continuation of its annual CabarETC series playing September 20-21 at 8:00pm. Challenged by the traditional images of women in the music-industry, these prolific singer/songwriters paved the way for women in music, art, and life by bravely exploring territory outside the accepted confines of popular music. Back to the Garden celebrates these women, their influence and inspiration, directed by Amy Jones and featuring Melissa Hammans, Maddy Wyatt, and Shaleah Adkisson performing with Julia Adamy (bass), Molly MacMillan(keys), with Barbara Merjan (drums), and Sue Terwilliger (guitar).

The Hangar's CabarETC series (pronounced cabar-etcetera) is comprised of special cabaret evenings featuring intimate, nightclub style performances by Broadway stars and local artists. Audience members may sit at café tables or in theatre seats while enjoying light fare and libations including beer and wine.

SMART TALK: SEAGULLS SMART TALK
By Clara Dix, R.N.

SEAGULLS: An advanced student at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired pointed this one out to us, to our embarrassment. An avid birder, she referred us to the field guides. Sure enough, they’re just gulls. After all, there are no cave gulls. Seagull makes no more sense than airmoth or landllama, or car makers advertising road cars.

But then, maybe auto companies are tired of doing warrantee repairs on cars their customers have used for ocean racing. Chasing seagulls, no doubt.

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Aurora, New York—The Wells College Visual Arts Department will host 'Here, Look,' by artist Katie Waugh in the College’s String Room Gallery September 4 through October 11. The exhibit is free, and the public is cordially invited to view the show. An artist’s reception will be held on Wednesday, September 4 from 6 to 8 p.m.  Refreshments will be served.

Waugh’s artwork explores collective aspiration and social performance, often questioning the structures and systems by which communities express and define themselves. This new exhibition, featuring work made almost exclusively during her time living in the Finger Lakes, takes inspiration from the highly visual nature of the relationship between communities and their waterfronts. Comprised of video, photography, drawing and fiber, this work considers the way images are used to interpret and mediate a contemporary understanding of the sublime.

SMART TALK
by Dr. Viva Palaver



FAT AND UGLY: While this term may not violate any rules of grammar or usage, I must comment on it, as staff psychologist at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired. 

I began my career as a school district social worker, and I saw child after child hurt, and sometimes made clinically ill, by the thoughtless or cruel use of fat and ugly. The most obvious manifestation of the injury that hearing fat and ugly can cause, even when the label is applied to someone else, is an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.  This can, and does in too many cases, result in dangerous health conditions and death.

Obviously, this damaging phrase comes from parents.  Children aren't born prejudiced.  Even if you protest that you or your parents aren't guilty, we must all learn to firmly say that we don't like such a hurtful and unfair term.  We pledge liberty and justice for all; it's time to walk the talk.
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Complementing the 2013 Mainstage season, the Hangar Theatre presents a magical series of live theatre for young audiences based on favorite children's stories. The KIDDSTUFF season will conclude with performances of The Wiz, a 'super soul' musical version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz playing from August 15-17 at 10am and 12pm.

Adapted for young audiences, this 'super soul,' musical version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz invites audiences to 'Ease on Down the Road' with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. In the Land of Oz, where magic and adventure are hidden around every turn, Dorothy tries to find her way home and discovers a power inside herself that she never knew she had. This celebrated musical, which won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score, will feature students from the Hangar's Next Generation School of Theatre.

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SMART TALK

by Dr. Tilde Cedilla



DISCREET/DISCRETE: At the Center for English as a First Language, we frequently treat word pair confusion in patients who thought English really was their first language. But they pour over documents they should be poring over and assure their lovers they're being discrete.

An ignorance of Latin is a terrible handicap when learning Romance languages such as my native Spanish. But English, even though it's a Germanic language, is full of words with Latin roots, such as "discrete." The "crete" part comes from a Latin word for grow or increase.

Knowing that makes me think a crescent moon is always a waxing moon, and a waning crescent is an oxymoron, but we've lost that distinction. The "crete" in "discrete" still means grow, however, so "concrete" means grown together or solid, and "discrete" means grown apart, or clearly separate.

The "creet" part of "discreet" also comes from Latin, this time meaning discern or distinguish, so "discreet" would mean not discerned, or hidden, which leads to our modern meaning of judicious, prudent, or unobtrusive.

So discrete lovers might or might not be discreet, but they're certainly not in love with each other.

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The 6th annual Moving Landscapes performance continues the CRS Barn Studio tradition of bringing innovative dance and music partnerships to Ithaca audiences. Beginning with an outdoor prologue performed in the gardens, with a panoramic view of Cayuga Lake, choreographed pieces in a variety of dance styles will alternate with improvisations that engage audience members in a lively creative process. This is a rare opportunity to see choreographic work in all stages of development and to observe dance-making in action, in an informal setting.

Moving Landscapes 6 will showcase work from Ithaca, Geneva, and Rochester, as well as live music. Choreographers include Jeanne Goddard, Donna Davenport, Holly Hibbert, Kelly Johnson, Joyce Morgenroth, Dana Robson, Jim Self, and others, in collaboration with dancers Lisa Bertuzzi, Ariel Fajardo, Risa Lieberwitz, and Yvette Rubio. Baritone Steven Stull and pianist Richard Montgomery will accompany the dancers and will also perform a selection of classical and traditional songs.

An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch...who raps? They're all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's fractured fairy tale, Into the Woods. Running to Places’ (R2P) production, August 16-18 at the State Theatre of Ithaca, is a Tony Award-winning musical appropriate to all ages (but probably best enjoyed by children eight and older).

When a Baker (Josiah Rawlings) and his Wife (Sari Koppel) learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch (Allie Young) next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella (Bretana Turkon), Little Red (Keara Byron), Rapunzel (Charlotte Senders) and beanstalk-climbing Jack (Matthew Skrovan). Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins as a lively, irreverent fantasy in the style of “The Princess Bride” becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell our children.