The Curie Dance Club presents us with “The Story of Snow”.

The story begins when an old lady is telling her granddaughter the story of snow and why it snows. Come on over and find out for yourself as Curie students make this play so realistic that you truly believe they are the characters they portray. Their premier is on Thursday December 3^rd at 6pm in the Curie auditorium. Admission tickets cost $5 per person. Not only is this a great way to bring in the holiday spirit but all the money collected through the admission tickets will be donated to La Rabida Children’s Hospital. La Rabida’s purpose is to give care for those children with lifelong diseases no matter what the financial status of the family. La Rabida serves almost 9,000 children annually with challenging medical conditions.  Curie has worked hard practicing up to four hours a day, so come and show your peers some pride!

Photo by VC Ferry

“Whatever muse it takes to make the music…”

~ L. K. Thayer

VC Ferry

All Rights Reserved

© 2009

It is happening again! AIE is hosting PAWS!!

Students from grades 9-12 are joining us at our Performing Arts Workshops! We offer all kinds of different performing art classes ranging from acting to staging to Latin dance! We have over 350 students coming from Westchester, Rockland, and Connecticut to attend  our all day workshops at Purchase College. Paws can let you find your inner performer by exposing students to art that they would usually not be able to see or actually be a part of.

Students are going to be able to choose 3 workshops from a variety of classes that last 1h 15 min. They can experience what it is like to be a dancer, an actor and even improv on stage. It will be a day of laughter and joy filled with new experiences. We are really looking forward to our 2010 PAWS workshop!

-Dominique Schwenner administrative intern

Bethune Elementary School will present its annual holiday program at noon Wednesday, Dec. 16, at the Georgia World Congress Center. The program will be an intelligent mix of seasonal cheer filled with music selected to challenge students and delight the audience. All students from grades K-5 will sing a variety of holiday songs under the direction of chorus teacher Ulguithe Francisque and accompanied by the live performance of a jazz trio. The Bethune band students will perform an instrumental medley of several holiday selections under the direction of band teacher Arthur McClenton. The highlight of this year’s holiday program is the production Willy Wonka: The Holiday Story, an adaptation from the original movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, by Lerone Banneker Smith.

This holiday program represents a huge investment in time and effort for all those involved. The grade choruses have been practicing together during their enrichment sessions memorizing lyrics, music and choreography. Dancers and drama students are selected carefully and engaged in lengthy preparatory rehearsals. Colletta Rogers, our art teacher and Teacher of the Year, will design the costumes and sets. We look forward to another great performance by our Bethune students. It is definitely one that you do not want to miss!

Dreaming of a future this audition could bring...

You’re in a room with two strangers whose job it is to scrutinize you and decide your future. You have a mere ten minutes to impress them; cramming in as much impressive skill and flare and personality as you can. Every note is played like a plea “let me in! Let me in!”

You are ruing not choosing something a bit more sensible, a bit more straightforward like Science where it all comes down to your exam numbers. Nothing like this complicated mass of variables, from the state of your nerves to the auditioner’s mood to the air-conditioning potentially putting your instrument out of tune to the very drops of sweat on your hands. The questions teem, “Have I chosen a good enough selection? Will they hate it if I don’t use an accompanist? Oh my gosh the person down the hall sounds so much more impressive”… and it all comes down to that big question that plagues every musician, singer, actor, dancer and performer out there, “Am I good enough?”

Being one of the many have traipsed from uni from uni selling my skills like a door-to-door salesman …I completely understand. It’s survivable. Today was my last audition and I await results. It’s such an odd position to be, one that none of my friends could properly sympathise with. Anyway here’s some things I picked up from my * harrowing * experiences of the last few weeks.

• Pretend you’re in Fame – Well it works for me ok. I like to picture I’m in a movie, helps me to enjoy what would otherwise be a harrowing experience. Got a flat tire on the way to the audition? Oh that’s extra drama thrown in to add suspense to the plot line. In the poorly “soundproofed” practice rooms I had this drummer next to me stomping away and a virtuoso violinist down the hall playing impressive trills and runs. So in the spirit of ‘Fame’ I practiced my scales to the beats the drummer was playing and hoped the virtuoso violinist would be accepted to a prestigious college in Norway.

• Get the less stressy parent to take you – Pretty obvious but you want to have the clearest state of mind, and trust me any little thing is liable to unhinge the tenuously balanced calm you’re clinging onto. My Dad, whilst the less stressy of the two unfortunately had a cold taking me down to my auditions and so the relentless “sniff, sniff” (more like a hearty “snort, snort”) almost drove me wild. But I hung on.

• The key: warm up – Warm up the morning of your audition. This allows for a comfortable drive without any paranoia’s that you have lost your skills overnight. Get there at least an hour early. I found that although the official pamphlet said to expect a meager “15 minutes” in a warm up room, by showing up early I got up to an hour of warm up time. The more you play your pieces the better they sound and the more your confidence grows and the tension dissipates. I find the simplest exercise almost a form o f meditation when fully zoned into what I’m playing. Playing your instrument if the best way to get rid of stress – it banishes the what if’s and engages your mind.

• Embarrassing moments – Are golden. It breaks the ice immediately and dispels the tension. Not to mention making you memorable to the auditioner and showing off your poise as you laugh it off and recover. Setting up my stand for one of the auditions I banged my violin bow against the stand like a total noob/amateur. “Ah well I needed a new one anyway” I hastily added and everyone in the room chuckled. On my exit I thought it would be a good idea to shake the hands of the auditoners, and having my violin in my right hand reached with my left hand. There were some confused looks but I left with the comment, “Well we are pretty backward in Picola!”

• Flat tires happen: Keeping the stress at bay – The best method I have found is pure distraction. Find something that will keep your mind from worrying, relieving what hasn’t even happened yet and imagining a thousand disastrous possibilities. We got a flat tire on the way to the audition today and I almost lost it. But I went straight to my book (Anne of Avonlea) and read like crazy. My favourite distraction is turning the music up really loud and singing along. If you have to wait around beforehand (and you’re a girl or a different sort of male) shopping works wonders with it’s sort of pleasant, numbing sensation.

• Dealing with the comments auditioner’s make – I had one highly esteemed auditioner comment after I had finished playing, “Well you’ll have to work on your technique”. I felt quite shattered until I thought about it and decided it (hopefully) wasn’t a bad thing. Apparently they say that sort of thing to most applicants anyway so don’t base too much on the random things they say, though I know you will anyway. I ended up passing that audition after all.

• If you are a rural student or suffer any other such disadvantages milk it baby -  use it as ‘colour’ to your personality. I had one auditioner say to me that “a no isn’t a no” and that I didn’t get in, based on the fact I’ve had such a hard time living on a farm in a town of a hundred people he would personally push my case for me (and true, it is darn hard to pursue music with the lack of resources and support you’re faced with. I had to go to another school to be able to study music)

• Different levels and mixtures of other applicants – As my teacher sagely says, “there will always be someone better than you and someone worse than you.” So this is just unnecessary stress because it’s impossible to know everything about what they’re doing – those thousands of variables apply to them too. There is one thing for sure however: there are no other you’s auditioning with your particular mix of personality, talents and experience. So…

• Be yourself

Resources and Links:

-         One of the best books I have ever read on music is ‘The Inner Game of Music’ by Barry Green. Essential reading – it has revolutionised the way I think about playing the violin (and any instrument, indeed any discipline would benefit)

-       The second greatest book to counteract nerves and offer loads of advice is ‘Taking Centrestage’ by Ruth Bonetti with many case studies from famous people and step by steps guiding through every situation, this book has been a massive help!

On Golden Pond Cast & Backstage Crew

Footlighters of Calvary would like to send out a very big thank you to everyone who came to our production of On Golden Pond.

We had a very successful run and were so excited to introduce some wonderful new talent to the Footlighters stage!

We also had the privilege of meeting new audience members and would like to extend them a warm welcome to the Footlighters family!

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon, and once again, thank you for supporting community theater in your area! The arts are so important and it is encouraging to see such support.

Bucharest Masters of Jazz Festival 2009

Jan Garbarek Group

Jan Garbarek – saxophone

Trilok Gurtu – percussion

Rainer Bruninghaus – piano

Yuri Daniel – bass

Opening Saloon Set for Taming the Wild, Wild West in a Dress

So I’ve had a few requests for pictures of the set we used for Taming the Wild, Wild West.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the usual good shots I normally have of our sets.  But, I will keep searching.

In the meantime, here is one picture of part of the set.  This is looking mostly at the saloon portion of it. We actually extended the stage out as you can kind of see.  We used a platform to extend the saloon, and then we had tables and the bar on different levels.

We had a half wall (frame only) tapering down in the middle of the set to separate the saloon from the salon. I have heard of other companies using a movable middle wall that was secured by a type of hinge, so they could extend it to expand either the saloon or the salon depending on the scene.

Since you can’t really see our salon in this photo, I will do my best to describe it to you – We had 2 “hair chairs” with a table in the middle that held the bucket for Rhoda. We had a bench in the back of the salon, against the wall with the entrance.  The entrance to the “back room” was over on the side wall next to the hair chairs. The check-in desk and hat rack were in the front of the stage.

Hope this helps at least a little!  Feel free to email info@silverpenproductions.com if you need to chat more.

95 Riverside Parkway, just off the Warrenton/Falmouth exit of Interstate 95 is the location of the fabulous Riverside Dinner Theater and Conference Facility.   Programs abound for everyone including Main Stage Productions, Children’s shows, Mystery Theater with audience participation, Childrens Drama Classes for ages 7 to 18, Childrens Summer camps, also for ages 8 to 18, special shows, New Years Eve party and catered Conference and event rooms available.

Currently showing on the Main Stage is the delightful adaptation of A Christmas Carol, the musical version called SCROOGERunning from now till January 3rd.  this performance is guaranteed to please with wonderful vocals to the songs Good Times, December the Twenty Fifth, I Hate People, The Ministers Cat, I’ll Begin Again, and Thank You Very Much, mystifying special effects and even snow at the end. 

Rounding out the XII season at Riverside on the Main Stage are

Little Shop of Horrors from January 15 to March 7 and

Smokey Joes’ Cafe form March 12 to May 2. 

Then Season XIII will captivate you with:

Footloose                             May 7 - July 18

Into the Woods                 July 23 – September 19

Cabaret                                September 24 – November 21

White Christmas              November 27 – January 2

Hair Spray (pending)    January 7 – March 6

Best Little Whorhouse in Texas    March 11 – May 1

Yes, I have appointed myself an Ambassador to the Arts, theater arts to be exact and Riverside Theater arts to be even more precise.  But not because I am partial, though I am, but because a  Riverside experience IS TRUELY A TREASURED EVENT.  There is nothing like Live Theater and Riverside does it Right, from their huge elegant tiered theater where every seat is a good seat, to the 3 course fine dining and world class stage performers.  Six Main Stage Productions a year on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons and Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings offer something for everyone.  Six children’s shows offered on Tuesday’s, Thursday’s and Saturday’s during the day are a big hit with schools during the week and family birthday parties and grandparents entertaining the kids on Saturdays.   Two Wednesday’s a month enjoy a Murder Mystery Theater where the audience gets to help solve the mystery.  All Main Stage performances and the Wednesday Mystery Theater offer the full 3 course dinner with a choice of 4 or more main course and two+ desert selections.  Dietary needs are catered to if possible.  All children’s shows offer a bag lunch of hot chicken nuggets, apple, cheese-its, rice crispy treat and juice box.

Currently gracing the stage for the children’s theater is the heart warming tale of The Secret Garden This production runs through January 2nd.  Following The Secret Garden the childrens theater offers:

The Jungle Book                                                       Jan. 16 – Mar. 13

We the People                                                           Mar. 18 – May 8

Alice in Wonderland                                              May 13 – Jul. 3

The Big Bad Musical                                               Jul.10 – Aug. 28

There’s a Monster in My Closet                        Sept. 4 – Oct. 30

The Magical Land of OZ                                       Nov. 4 – Dec. 18

I strongly urge you to enjoy one or all of these guaranteed to please perfomances.  We are so fortunate to not only have such a wonderful opportunity for experiencing the art of live theater right here in Fredericksburg but also to offer area children the culture, adventure and education of LIVE THEATER.  For further information visit the Riverside website at www.riversidedt.com OR contact the box office at 540-370-4300.  Group rates are available.   

Come and share the magic and mystery of Lihou Island in this fun, freezing, family event.  Meet and work with those who Create through lantern making, dance, storytelling and more. 

Anyone wishing to join the event should meet at the Prosperity Car Park at 11.15 and be ready to undertake the journey to Lihou on foot when the Causeway clears.  It will be cold and probably wet, so make sure you wear appropriate clothing and footwear.  We will return to Guernsey by 3.15pm.  The event is free, but is unsuitable for small children who cannot manage the 20 minute walk across the Causeway (not suitable for buggies etc).

For more information contact Laura Simpson on 01481 749262 or laura@arts.gg

Will you Create?

Rogers Santa Claus Parade

December is here!

What can I say? I unabashedly love December in Vancouver because I love the holiday season with the fervor of a five-year-old. I love everything about the winter holidays: the lights, the decorations, the music….I even like the thrill and hum of everyone rushing around, buying gifts and attending holiday parties, hurrying to get home.

Of course, I also adore Vancouver’s famous holiday events. There’s something so special about seeing families and friends together at the Stanley Park’s Bright Nights or the Nutcracker and knowing that this is a memory they’ll always treasure.

Holidays are made for making memories, and these Top 10 Vancouver Christmas & Holiday Events are the perfect way to do it.

Top 10 Vancouver Christmas & Holiday Events

1. Bright Nights in Stanley Park – November 27, 2009 – January 2, 2010
Ride the Stanley Park Miniature Train through a forest made magical with millions of twinkling lights.

Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain

2. The Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain – November 28 – December 24, 2009
Talk about a winter wonderland! Grouse Mountain’s seasonal event has outdoor ice-skating, sleigh rides, real reindeer, live choral music, Santa, and more.

3. Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge – December 4, 2009 – January 2, 2010
The Capilano Suspension Bridge is already dramatic without adornment, so just imagine it covered in sparkling lights. Sound awesome? It is.

4. Rogers Santa Claus Parade – December 6, 2009
The holiday parade in Vancouver features Santa, Chinese dragons, dancers, 60 bands, loads of floats, and much more.

5. Christmas at Canada Place – December 6 – 31, 2009
An annual tradition for over 20 years, downtown Vancouver’s iconic Canada Place celebrates the holidays with free light shows on its sails. You can also have Breakfast with Santa on December 6 or December 12.

VanDusen's Festival of Lights

6. Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Garden – December 11, 2009 through January 3, 2010 (closed December 25)
Picturesque in any season, the lovely VanDusen Garden is transformed into a spectacular holiday tableau by millions of colourful lights.

7. Goh Ballet’s The Nutcracker – December 17 – 20, 2009
Come on, how can it be Christmas without The Nutcracker? Even if you don’t like the ballet, you like this ballet. This year’s production features the National Ballet of Canada accompanied by the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra.

8. Winter Solstice Lantern Festival - December 21, 2009
Celebrate one of the world’s oldest traditions by welcoming back the light after the longest night of the year. This annual festival happens at neighbourhoods around Vancouver; sites include Chinatown’s famed Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.

9. Holiday Shows, Musicals & Music – Various Dates
Vancouver’s arts community gets in the Christmas spirit with the Arts Club Theatre’s White Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life, Vancouver Chamber Choir’s A Baroque Christmas, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s A Traditional Christmas.

10. Boxing Day Sales – December 26, 2009
If there is one holiday event in which almost everyone in Vancouver participates, it’s got to be Boxing Day. The biggest sale day of the year sees hoards of people packed into every mall in Metro Vancouver and all along Robson Street. The crowds are cumbersome, but the bargains are worth it!

What will you be doing this December?

Last week, I wrote about the opening of the Vancouver Opera’s 50th anniversary season and the amazing productions slated for 2009/2010—including Madama Butterfly and The Marriage of Figaro—but I didn’t mention the VO’s new discount program for people aged 18-30: Get O.U.T.

Get O.U.T. stands for Get Opera Under Thirty, and the goal is to get younger audience into VO shows. For each performance this season, the VO will set aside a certain number of $25 discount tickets for under-30s. Tickets are limited to two per customer, and you need to give a promotional code—which you’ll find on the VO Blog, VO’s Facebook and VO’s Twitter—to the VO ticketing centre to make your purchase.

Opera tickets for $25 are a phenomenal deal; take advantage! And keep in mind: Get O.U.T. isn’t just for students, it’s for anyone between 18-30!

A rough draft of the first scene of The State has been posted on YouTube.

Hats off to Troy Berry.  It looks awesome!

by Carolyn Batt

Want to see 25 of Western New York’s greatest attractions—literally from A to Z in two hours? On Tuesday, December 1st, at 8pm on WNED, it will be possible as this special spotlights more than two dozen local cultural attractions, one corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. From the Albright-Knox Art Gallery to the Buffalo Zoo, get ready to be taken on a journey across Erie, Chautauqua, Niagara, Cattaraugus and Wyoming Counties.

Highlighted through a series of “video postcards,” viewers will be able to experience unique nearby places, including attractions that house pop art by Andy Warhol and original manuscripts by Mark Twain.

Best of all, for all you Buffalo fans out there, 17 of the 25 attractions are located right in the Queen City!

: : : : : : : : :

The Performing Arts Cluster of the Ateneo de Manila University proudly presents…

PACisama: Rebolusyon
A Collaborative concert showcasing the best talents of the Ateneo de Manila.

Witness the revolution take center stage as Ateneo’s Performing arts
organizations – ACGC, blueREP, CADs, & TA – together with
the Ateneo de Manila Grade School, the Ateneo de Manila High School,
and GK bring you a night of arts and culture!

please do spread this email and send to all your friends!

December 4 2009
6:30 – 8:30pm
at the College Lane (Red Brick Road)
Free admission

*And don’t forget to visit the different booths during the event!

Isang layon, isang adhikain, isang pinaglalaban.

VIDLA’s Patron, author and vocal coach Dena Murray, has been kind enough to write an exclusive article for VIDLA this week.

The article is called ‘Dispelling the Myth – Proper Engagement of the Diaphragm’, and is a tantalising glimpse into the focus of her latest book, which is available to order via Amazon, or via the VIDLA Bookstore

The book is called “Vocal Strength and Power: Boost Your Singing With Proper Technique & Breathing“, and is published by hal Leonard. It is the third of Dena’s books. Her first two: “Vocal Technique” and “Advanced Vocal Technique” (also published by Hal Leonard), are two of VIDLA’s range of Key Texts associated with specific Study Units.

You can find Dena’s new article in full  here.

Dena is unfailing in her support for what we do here at VIDLA, and the whole team would like to thank her for her always-charming manner, her kindness and her expertise.

With warmest wishes,

The VIDLA Team

MiG Ayesa is an amazingly talented singer, songwriter, and performer, as well as an amazingly wonderful person. You can find out all about MiG at his official website Click on the links to see the kaleidoscope of MiG goodness that has been made available to all.
For a kaleidoscope view of what is inside MiG’s website…front page
For a kaleidoscope of news about MiG…news page
For a kaleidoscope of audio tracks…audio page
For a kaleidoscope of MiG videos…video page
For a kaleidoscope of MiG pics…photo page
Don’t forget to stop by the contact page to leave MiG a message on his guestbook! Your can click on the graphic below for instant transportation to even more MiG at mig-music.com.

Check out this great blog about MiG!!!
Team MiG Blog

and some fansites:
Team MiG
Mig Fans Japan
MiG Fans SG

ダンスがメインの劇場、Sadler’s Wells Theatre（サドラーズ・ウェルズ劇場）で開催中のSvapnagata Festivalの演目、「Akram Khan & Nitin Sawhney: Confluence」を見た。友人が、一緒に見る予定だった人が突然来れなくなったというので、講演の前日に誘ってくれたのだ。前から数列目と言うとても良い席で、パフォーマンスを目の当たりにできた。

Svapnagata（サンスクリット語で「Dreaming（夢見ている）」の意） Festivalは、２週間に及ぶインド音楽とダンスのフェスティバル。Confluence（26〜28日）はそのトリを務める公演で、世界初演となる。Confluence（合流、群衆、集合）は、Zero Degrees（ゼロ度・2005年）やBahok（バホーク・2008年）でも共作した、バングラデシュ系イギリス人のダンサー／振付師であるAkram Khan（アクラム・カーン）とインド系イギリス人の作曲家・Nitin Sawhney（ニティン・ソーニー）がコラボ。彼らのルーツである南アジアの文化的・精神的影響を探る作品だ。

ゼロ度は、私たちの好きなイギリス人アーティスト・アントニー・ゴームリーが製作した人形を舞台で使っているというので、同じくサドラーズ・ウェルズで見たのだが、その時に、カーンのダンスに初めて出会った。Confluenceでも彼の魅力は充分生かされ、北インドの古典舞踊カタック（Kathak）の踊り手でもあるカーンの、しなやかで力強いダンス、流れるような手の動き、ぶれない高速旋回、そして足に鈴をつけて踊るカタックの見事なステップが、半透明のスクリーンに幽玄的にぼんやりと浮かび上がる、スクリーンの後ろで演奏するミュージシャンたちの奏でるソーニーの美しい音楽と見事にマッチしていて、観客を魅惑・熱狂させた。古典舞踊とコンテンポラリー・ダンス、そして伝統的音楽と現代音楽を融合させた、素晴らしいパフォーマンスだった。残念だったのは、1時間ちょっとという短い公演時間。もっと見たかった！

I went to see “Akram Khan & Nitin Sawhney: Confluence“, a part of Svapnagata (meaning ‘dreaming’ in Sanskrit) Festival, two-week festival of Indian music and dance, at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre which specialises in dance. My friend asked me to join her the day before, as she got a spare ticket because her friend couldn’t make it. She got great seats which were only few rows away from the stage and we could see the performance up close.

Confluence (Nov 26 to 28), which was the festival’s climaxes and its world premiere, is a joint creation by Bangladeshi-British dancer/choreographer Akram Khan and Indian British composer Nitin Sawhney, who also previously collaborated in Zero Degrees and Bahok. In Confluence, Khan and Sawhney explore their cultural and psychological mix of influences.

I went to see Zero Degrees at the Sadler’s Wells because British Artist Antony Gormley was also involved in the creation, and it was my first experience with Khan’s mesmerizing dance. Khan, also a dancer of Northern Indian classical dance Kathak, showed us his elastic but powerful dance, streaming hand movements, stable high-speed turns, and beautiful steps of Kathak and the sound of the bells worn around his ankles, and these perfectly matched with Sawhney’s beautiful music on its simple stage. The scenes that silhouettes of musicians who were playing behind the screen came to dimly appear through the thin screen was pretty mysterious. It was a stunning performance which mixed classical Indian dance / contemporary dance and traditional music / modern music, and excited the audiences. I wish the performance was a bit longer (it was only 1 hour and 15 min)!

photo: Morley von Sternburg

photo: Morley von Sternburg

I was delighted to be able to video tape Jango Edwards’ clown workshop at The Brick Theatre in Williamsburg. It was held Nov. 9th thru the 11th 2009 in association with Jef Johnson’s CLOWN LAB.  I have edited a short excerpt of the workshop and posted it here.  Jango hasn’t been in the US for over 27 years. He was delighted to teach both in New York and Baltimore. He has started the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona and will be having month long workshops there starting in March 2010. Many professional clowns and movement teachers will be doing workshops and performances. Jango started the FESTIVAL OF FOOLS in Amsterdam in 1975. Now Jango’s focus is on the NCI and teaching, performing worldwide. I will be working on the Jango Interview and post it here later next week.

]]> http://roysrants.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/tri-county-performing-arts-center/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:39:14 +0000 Roy http://roysrants.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/tri-county-performing-arts-center/

HONK!
A family musical
Dec. 3rd – 20th
Village Productions/Tri-PAC
245 E. High Street, Pottstown

http://www.tripac.org