When we wrote about the local filmmaker nominated for an Oscar, for Best Documentary (see the trailer in the link- very powerful) we didn’t realize there were more!
Westchester Mag writes, “One of the nominees, God Is the Bigger Elvis, is directed by Rebecca Cammisa of Tarrytown, produced by Julie Anderson of Scarsdale, and centers around Bethlehem, Connecticut, native Dolores Hart. Hart was a successful actress, with a claim to fame that she received Elvis Presley’s first on-screen kiss in the movie Loving You. ”
“Incident in New Baghdad,” a short documentary film depicting the psychological toll of the Iraq War on American troops, is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Subject. The nominee is James Spione, Purchase College School of the Arts alum and resident of Katonah.
“Incident in New Baghdad” won the award for Best Documentary Short at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
Purchase graduates are often honored at international film festivals. Most recently Conservatory of Music alum Dan Romer composed the score for the film “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which took home the top prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
(warning: graphic war images)
“The high level of training acquired by our graduates, as well as their capacity to ‘think wide open,’ gives them an edge in the constantly shifting world of the performing arts, launching many of them to national acclaim,” says Kenneth Tabachnick, dean of the School of the Arts.
According to the College, Theater Arts alumna Melissa Leo won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in “The Fighter”; Purchase Conservatory of Music faculty member Peter Denenberg headed the sound restoration and music mixing for the Academy Award-winning film, “When We Were Kings”; School of Film and Media Studies alum and film director Chris Wedge, won an Academy Award win for “Bunny” and a nomination for “Ice Age”; School of Film and Media Studies professor Chuck Workman won an Academy Award for “Precious Images”; Purchase professor Alex Orlovsky co-produced the Academy Award-winning film “Blue Valentine” and Purchase alum William Sarokin,was nominated for an Oscar for the sound mixing of “Salt.”
It’s hard to miss on a long stretch of Central Avenue dominated by strip malls, but there it is, looking like a red gift box you got from a crazy aunt. And Nana’s Attic is crazy in a good way, chock a block with antiques, costume jewelry, lamps, gifts, everything you would expect to find in an over-stuffed attic. You can’t possibly see it all in one trip.
Nana’s Attic 414 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale 914-472-3806
Drive carefully, everyone! (photo by Jacqueline Silberbush) Submit your local photo by email or to our looppool on flickr, and we’ll post one at the end of every weekday.
Bruce McNicols (left) seen with his on stage partner Henry Newberger
LMC-TV Executive Director Erik Lewis announced the passing of a man well known to those who have watched and been involved with community TV in Larchmont and Mamaroneck:
It is with deep sadness that I report that longtime producer and musician Bruce McNichols has died.
Bruce’s banjo and vocals appeared regularly at LMC-TV, first in the show “It’ll Get Better” for which we have records of 390 episodes, and then after a hiatus, in the show “Still Tryin’” which recorded its 100th episode on February 8.
Bruce with his bandmate Henry Newberger and others also lent their lilting good humor and great music to LMC-TV Award Nights on the stage of the Emelin Theater and at numerous LMC-TV holiday parties. Countless volunteers have passed through LMC-TV as crew persons for his shows.
Bruce will be deeply missed by all of us here at LMC-TV.
From the Emelin, a local venue whose profile keeps rising with the quality of its performances, such as this Missouri-born bluegrass artist:
Without a doubt one of bluegrass music’s most energetic, powerful and personable performers, Valerie Smith and her excellent band, featuring fiddler and songwriter Becky Buller, return to the Emelin for the first time since 2001.
There’s an old-time feel to Valerie’s music that belies her ability to find exceptional songs by today’s best writers. Her vocal duets with Becky can be wistful, emotional, funny, and, often, hair-raising. It’s a treat to have her back at the Emelin in 2012. www.valeriesmithonline.com
Spend a few hours on a gray February day or evening in a great adult or kid’s program. Good ideas for Winter Break, too!
Thursday, February 16, 7:00 pm
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN (1974) – This multiple Emmy-award winning TV movie stars Cicely Tyson as a woman in the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines. Ossie Davis Theater, Free.
Saturday, February 18, 3:00 pm
Julia Breanetta Simpson performs Harlem on My Mind
Harlem on My Mind is a one-woman musical journey through the dynamic period in history known as the Harlem Renaissance. Created and performed by Julia Breanetta Simpson, Harlem On My Mind is directed by Shaunelle Perry with musical direction by Ken Levinsky. This dazzling show celebrates the music of ‘Duke’ Ellington, Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin and others. Along the way you will explore the poetry of Langston Hughes and encounter the larger than life personalities of Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Josephine Baker. Recommended for ages 12 and above. Ossie Davis Theater. Suggested donation: $2.00. Made possible by the Friends of the New Rochelle Public Library.
Here’s a story for you- the Rye Storytellers Guild has met every Tuesday evening for 25 years at the Rye Free Reading Room. The stories they could tell.
This winter and spring the Rye Storytelling Guild will offer a course in how to spin a good yarn.
Classes held on the first Tuesday of each month from 6.30 to 8.30 pm (next class is March 8) and will focus on how and where to find a story you yearn to tell, how to shape and prepare the story, how to enhance its telling, the presentation of your story, and a celebration of storytelling graduates.
Workshop led by celebrated storyteller Carol Birch. To sign up call 914.231.3161 or email Neva Winter at newinter4@optonline.net.
This was sent to us by Larchmont gallery owner Kenise Barnes:
Leanne is the charming, effusive Gallery Manager at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Larchmont. She and Jorge have been a couple since their student days at Stony Brook University. Friday January 27th marked their six-year “anniversary”, and Jorge, being the romantic type, wanted to give his darling Leanne a surprise she will always remember.
First, it’s important to know: An ambitious, young professional in the financial field, Jorge has been posted to his company’s Paris office for the last two years. Leanne joined him there for a number of months last summer, but their romance in the past half year has been sustained mostly with Skype and text messages.
The time had come to do something about that. Leanne and Jorge both knew they were meant to be together, but Leanne had no idea they’d be together on the day of their sixth anniversary. Or that she would receive a proposal and a diamond and the promise of a many more days together.
To pull this off, Jorge conspired with Leanne’s boss, Kenise Barnes, way back in November, and made her promise that, under no circumstances should Leanne be allowed to take January 27th off. His worst fear was that she would fly to Paris to surprise him on the exact day he was flying to New York to surprise her.
Kenise, being a romantic type herself, was happy to oblige. And she recruited Alex, the proprietor of Le Wine Shop on Palmer Avenue, to help. Alex, as it turned out, was quite a romantic too, and pulled off his role brilliantly.
The plan was simple but ingenious: Furtively and unannounced, Jorge took a morning flight from Paris to JFK. (With the diamond ring he had been nervously carrying around in his pocket for two weeks.) He made his way to Larchmont, where Alex greeted him showed him to the back of Le Wine Shop. There he set up his iPod and a camera to record the moment.
On cue, Alex called Kenise to let her know that “…the new wine she wished to sample for her upcoming opening had arrived”, and that she could come over and pick it up. Leanne liked visiting Le Wine Shop; it gave her an opportunity to practice her French with Alex.
So, conveniently, Kenise decided to send Leanne instead, and watched her walk out the door, directly into the well-laid ploy.
Alex, who is always very helpful, feigned being on the phone when Leanne arrived. “The wine is in the cooler…” he said as he waved here to the back of the store.
“That’s strange…” thought Leanne as she heard the melody of “their song”.
But that was no match for her surprise when she came around the corner and found Jorge, already with tears of excitement and nervousness, on his knee, with a diamond ring in hand, and a proposal on his lips.
In her joyous shock, Leanne’s first words were, “Oh my God!”, and then “What are you doing here?”, and then, finally: “Yes.”
It was an artfully directed scene; the couple embraced as a bottle of fine champagne was opened. Toasts were offered in French and in English before Jorge whisked Leanne off for a picture perfect weekend in New York.
Check out the new Burchell Children’s Library and its great programs for kids. Some of the series have begun, so check with the library for availability.
Rhythm and Rhyme.
Ages 3 months-1 1/2 years.
Tuesdays, February 7, 14 and 21 or Fridays, February 10, 17 and 24 at 10:45. Get a jump start on literacy! We will share developmentally appropriate books, finger plays, songs and rhymes to use from the crib to the car seat. A parent or caregiver must attend. Registration is required by phone, online, or in person and is limited to Larchmont Public Library card holders.
Rhythm and Rhyme.
Ages 1 1/2-3 years.
Tuesdays, February 7, 14 and 21 or Fridays, February 10, 17 and 24 at 10:00. Help your child develop a love of language and literacy early–on. This program teaches new songs, rhymes and finger plays, while celebrating old Mother Goose favorites like Itsy Bitsy Spider. A parent or caregiver must attend.
Registration is required by phone, online or in person and is limited to Larchmont Library card holders.
Young and Restless. Ages 3 months-1 1/2 years. Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15 and 29 at 11:15. Delight and stimulate your baby’s mind with books and music. A parent or caregiver must attend. Registration not required.
Young and Restless.
Ages 1 1/2-3 years.
Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15 and 29 at 10:30.
Delight and stimulate your baby’s mind with books and music. A parent or caregiver must attend. Registration not required.
Fantastic Fives.
Age 5.
Mondays, February 6, 13, and 27 and Thursdays, February 2, 9, and 16 at 1:00. Make the Library part of your Kindergarten half–day routine! Join us for creative movement and hands on activities surrounding the best children’s literature. Registration not required.
Stories N’ More.
Ages 6-7.
Tuesdays, February 7, 14 and 28 at 4:00.
Up for a story? a craft? or both? Who knows what we’ll do at the next Stories ‘N’ More! Registration not required.
2nd and 3rd Grade Book Club.
Ages 8 and 9. Thursday, February 16 at 3:30.
Join us for reviewing and discussing the book of the month.
Books will be available on the Book Group Shelf in the Reference Room on the Main Floor three weeks before the program. Registration not required.
LEGO Club.
Ages 7 and up.
Saturday, February 18 at 3:30.
Come share your love of LEGOs at the library. The theme this month will be robots. The library will provide the LEGOs. Projects will stay on display in the Burchell Children’s Room and pictures will be posted to youtube. Please register in person or by calling 834–2281
Mardi Gras Mask Parade.
Ages 5 and up.
Tuesday, February 21 at 3:30pm.
You don’t have to be in New Orleans to enjoy beads, bayou music and funky masks! Join us for stories, mask-making, and of course, a parade. Please register by calling (914)834-2281
Talking Drums with Kobla Dente.
Ages 4-12.
Wednesday, February 22 at 11:00.
In a celebration of Black History Month, world class drummer and percussionist Dente will help the audience explore African culture through songs, chants, dance and movement activities. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Larchmont Library and will be held in the Village Center, directly behind the library. Registration is not required but seating is on a first come, first serve basis.
Pirate School With David Engel.
Ages 4 and up.
Thursday, February 23 at 11:00.
In an act that was featured in New York’s Magazine’s “Best of NY: Kids,” bumbling pirate “Billy Bones” will teach Larchmont’s boisterous buccaneers zany lessons on how to stand, talk, laugh, eat and sing like pirates. All mateys are encouraged to come in costume. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Larchmont Library and
will be held in the Village Center, directly behind the library. Registration is not required but seating is on a first come, first served basis.
Leap Into Leap Day with Paulene Greeman.
Ages 4-6.
Wednesday, February 29 at 3:30. Leap around the activity room as we celebrate a day that happens once every four years with stories and creative movement.
Please register by calling (914)834-2281
A Day in the Life of Larchmont captures the 24 hours of October 20, 2011 in photographs, which were exhibited Sunday at the Hampshire Club in Mamaroneck.
Over 300 photos were submitted to the Larchmont Historical Society. About 180 were chosen, depicting everything from shoe repair to children frolicking, restaurant scenes and animals.
The idea first came to Lynne Crowley 20 years ago as a way to celebrate the Village Centennial, when the first “Day in the Life” was held. Now the archivist for LHS, Lynne organized this exhibit too.
She says plans are to exhibit it next at Larchmont Art and in October at Larchmont Library.
Some of the photos in the exhibit:
Larchmont Train Station 5:17pm, Oct. 20, 2011 by Elisabeth Pollaert Smith
Get Hypnotized: tonight, February 10, the Mamaroneck High School Student Council presents Hypnotist Extraordinaire, Tom DeLuca, 7:30 PM, McLain Auditorium. Students: $5.00 Adults: $10.00. Tickets will be sold at the door starting at 6:45. This has become a favorite event at MHS and for the entire community.
The Glass Menagerie at CNR
The Glass Menagerie at College of New Rochelle:CNR Drama will present Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie from February 9 – February 12, 2012, on the Main Campus of The College of New Rochelle.
photo: John Vecchiolla
Children perform Guys and Dolls at the Sandbox
Guys and Dolls at the Sandbox Theatre: Tickets are $15 for all ages. You can purchase tickets by phone at 914 630 0804 or at the door.
The Science of Yoga Book Signing- A reminder that local writer and New York Times reporter William Broad will have a book signing at Anderson’s 2:00 Saturday.
The Poetry of Flowers Book Signing- with local photographer Camille Rankin 11:00 am, at Anderson’s.
Have you ever wondered about this incredible massive stone structure on Orienta Avenue? Through this gate, at the turn of the 20th Century, which led to Waytes Court, rode American aristocracy.
The New York Times article from 1908 reads, “Mrs. E.H. Weatherbee to Give a Bazaar at Her Mamaroneck Home,” Waytes Court, “one of the largest on Long Island Sound,”
The 30 acre estate on Orienta Point some thirty acres, which was originally the property of the DeLancey family, was, according to one account where “Fenimore Cooper made it the scene of some of his
most celebrated novels.”
From hundreds of images submitted over those 24 hours, just an ordinary day, the LHS created a collection that will open with a reception Sunday, February 12th, from 3-6pm at the Hampshire Country Club, 1025 Cove Road, Mamaroneck.
Two Loop photographers will be among those whose work will be displayed. Here’s a teaser:
The Bear Mountain Inn, built in 1915 up at Bear Mountain State Park was a little bit of Yellowstone about 45 miles north of the New York City line. The Historic Landmark has been closed for renovations for 6 years; it’s scheduled to reopen February 18.
The Palisades Parks Conservancy tells us the grand old Adirondack style inn has been extensively renovated with 15 luxury guest rooms and suites, a restaurant and gift shop and 20,000 square feet of event space designed by Thomas Hamilton Associates.
It will be interesting to see how much of the original charm remains; the 1915 Inn was built by employees with wood and stone that they found in the Park. Note the unfortunate dropped ceiling in the new dining room, but it looks like some original windows are there and some of the woodwork was preserved.
When Baseer Abdul first fled war-torn Afghanistan as a 15-year-old boy, he was virtually alone in New York, earning cash working at fast food restaurants to pay for English classes. By 18, though, he was well on his way to success, managing a rug company while learning the ins-and-outs of the business.
That thirst for learning, and a really good eye, is what makes Baseer Oriental Rugs in Larchmont a treasure trove of floor coverings. As a guy who appreciates artistry and quality, Abdul steers customers right — and not necessarily at premium costs. His carpet collection includes rugs priced from $100 to $30,000.
Abdul also cleans, repairs, buys and trades rugs. “You can ask me anything,” he says.
An important American Art exhibit has begun a year-long national tour at the Neuberger.American Vanguardsshowcases work of Stuart Davis, Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Adolph Gottlieb and their circle.
Says the announcement, “On view will be the work of many of the most important American artists who played a critical role in developing and defining American modernism during this vital period between two world wars.”
Through April 29 at the Neuberger Museum at Purchase College, Purchase.
A local author we interviewed last year and her extraordinary story come to the Larchmont Library February 12. In her gripping and often unsettling memoir, fathermothergod, My Journey Out of Christian ScienceLucia Greenhouse tells of the pains of growing up in a family with fervent Christian Science beliefs.
Her own thoughts of religion often clashed with her parents’; most forcefully when her mother became seriously ill with cancer and her father consulted Christian Science healers, instead of doctors. Come hear Linda Greenhouse’s profound struggle with family and faith.
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. in the Larchmont Village Center, 121 Larchmont Avenue. Complimentary wine and snacks at 3:30. The event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Friends of the Larchmont Public Library.
One customer calls Westchester Fabrics “the holy grail of fabrics.” The Mount Vernon store has been a sewers’ destination for decades.
The store is packed with a gazillion different fabrics, homey customer service and a few colorful characters who have worked there for nearly as long as it’s been around. Westchester Fabrics’ staff know their stuff: tell them what you want to make and they will gladly steer you in the right direction.
It’s that kind of old school cool that keeps customers coming back for more.
Westchester Fabrics, 103 S. 4th Ave., Mount Vernon 914.668.3555 (no website)
Haley Hasler, Portrait of a Lady Bearing Snacks, 2010, oil on linen
From the Pelham Arts Center, a very cool looking exhibit of fourteen artists exploring “modern notions of parenthood.” It’s called, what else– Separation Anxiety. February 3 through March 31.
An opening reception will take place on Friday, February 3, 6:30-8:00 p.m. during which time you may participate in some related art projects in the Gallery.
As significant numbers of women have entered the work force since the 1970s in response to shifting economic needs and the influence of the Feminist movement, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s long honored notion of the “Good Mother” and the demand that she blithely sacrifice all for the good of her children and family has been challenged and reevaluated. But as women have taken a place within the domestic AND public realms, conservative groups have predictably lamented the decline of “family values.”
Within that cry, the child has often been portrayed as endangered and lost while mothers seeking to redefine their roles and obligations are seen as frantic and on the verge of unraveling. While far from being resolved, such debates are symptomatic of a cultural anxiety over the state of popular ideals of familyhood and a realization that these idealistic, largely unattainable notions of the family should continue to be frankly reconsidered in the 21st century.
Separation Anxiety will feature the work of: Claudia Alvarez, Monica Bock, Erika DeVries, Leslie Dick, Elizabeth Douglas, Haley Hasler, Connie Hatch, Ellina Kevorkian, Kate Kretz, Marcos Rosales, Karen Schwenkmeyer, Mark Stockton, Abbey Williams, and Jennifer Wroblewski.
You can join a discussion of Stead and Giff’s award winning books, what makes a book Newbery worthy and learning more about these authors. Reservations requested but not required.
(from the promotional materials: – the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. )
This screening is in conjunction with an exhibit in the Gallery called (un)COMFORT(able) ZONE: Reflections on Home, Hearth, Memory and Loss. This exhibit will feature an artists’ panel in Romita Auditorium on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, from 6:45 to 8:00 pm.
Right in there with lockers, classrooms and teenagers cruising down corridors, a hidden gem of an art museum makes its home at New Rochelle High School.
The only state-chartered museum in a school in New York State, the Museum of Arts & Culture exhibits art created by students and outside artists alike.
The exhibit featured in these photos showcases the creations of graduating senior CJ Senerchia. The culmination of CJ’s artistic efforts throughout high school, the exhibit ends with a closing reception from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday.
“This was years in the making,” says fine arts teacher Marc Schneider.
The museum is a joint project of the High School and the non-profit New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information, visit the museum’s website.
They’re a hot musical duo whose music has generated over 1 million YouTube hits, and their album, The Scotch Tape, has produced a single now at the top of iTunes charts.
This should really drive home how weird this winter’s weather is. We posted these photos by Patti Roberts of snowfall in Larchmont Manor on theLoop one year ago today. (As I write, it’s 55 degrees outside.)
So, the custom shoes and handmade bag (or rather the $4,000 price tag) may not be in the cards. But it’s well worth visiting Occhicone Fine Leather Goods in Port Chester even if there’s nothing bigger than a resole or luggage repair on your to-do list, just to soak up the expert craftsmanship.
Customers describe repairs and leather fixes here as “just amazing.”
The family-run store has at its helm 81-year-old Joseph Occhicone, an Italian-born and taught leather expert who honed his skills like a true artisan. “You get a couple of years training and then experience for your whole life” he says.
Occhicone had shops in Italy and Manhattan before settling down on Main Street 31 years ago. And sharing his affinity for fine Italian goods does not have to put you in the red. His shop sells ready-made leather accessories and shoes, some with a very palatable price tag under $100.
Occhicone Fine Leather Goods is located at 42 N. Main St., Port Chester. 937-6327. No website.
Two of the area’s biggest public libraries have each just named new Directors.
Laura Eckley, new Director Larchmont Public Library
Effective February 6, in Larchmont, comes Laura Eckley, who spent nine years at the Bronxville Library, becoming Director in 2009. She will replace June Hesler, who served as Acting Interim Director since the retirement last summer of former director Diane Courtney.
Larchmont Library
Susan Riley, new Director Mamaroneck Library
Susan Riley has been named the new director of the Mamaroneck Library, replacing Susan Benton, who retired at the end of December. Riley was most recently the Director of the Mount Kisco Library She has previously worked in the Greenburgh Library, the White Plains Public Library, the Ardsley Library, the Chappaqua Library, and the Ossining Public Library, according to the library board’s announcement.
Mamaroneck Library
Interesting factoids:
Total annual operating expenses in 2010:
Larchmont Library: $1,586,233
Mamaroneck Library: $1,279,965
Largest library in County system: Mount Vernon
Biggest circulation: Yonkers:
photos: larchmont library from wikimedia commons, remaining photos from Westchester Library System
Some people in Larchmont brag about living in a village with two independent bookstores. But there’s another one down the road you should know about. Another that understands that when buying (not to mention the increasingly rare art of browsing) for books can mean sifting through tightly packed shelves, reading the back of book jackets and getting lost among stacks of everything from big, fat reference books to romantic trash? Hats off to Diane’s Books in Greenwich for preserving the experience of serendipitously finding something new to read.
Passionately owned by Diane Garrett, who boasts stocking four-times more books than the average superstore, Diane’s Books is everything on-line shopping is not: intimate, informative and interesting, complete with book-loving staff to help you wade through the store’s vast collections (or leave you alone if that’s what you’re looking for). Coined “A Family Bookstore,” Diane’s has scores of options for its youngest customers on up. In this day of e-buying — let alone e-reading — Diane’s Books’ ability to be going strong 22 years after opening its doors speaks volumes. Thousands of them.
Leslie Josel of Larchmont has seen it all in her job bringing order out of a peculiar kind of chaos –people who just can’t throw anything away. And that’s what she named her business, Order Out of Chaos.
On Saturday, Leslie is featured on “Stuffed: Food Hoarders,” an episode of the Cooking Channel where she helps out a Mount Vernon family so overwhelmed with the demands of an autistic child that their kitchen, and their lives, are out of control. (click here. You have to see those photos.)
She tackles the family’s kitchen and dining room, “which included hundreds of canned goods, many with old expiration dates, cookware and kitchen paraphernalia piled high to the ceiling leaving those areas virtually unusable.”
And I thought my house was a mess.
January 29th at 8:00 pm : DIRECTV, DISH Network,Verizon FiOs
Larchmont resident Bill Broad knows something about yoga- he has practiced it for many years. And he knows a bit about science, too, being a lead science writer for the New York Times. So his soon-to-be-released book, The Science of Yoga, may be the first modern look at yoga from someone that practices both.
The publisher’s notes say, “He shows what’s uplifting and beneficial, what’s flaky and delusional, what’s dangerous and even deadly. In the end, he offers a compelling vision of how the ancient practice can be improved.”
Maybe you’ll better understand the reason you feel so good after your next downward facing dog. (I just started the book, and the writing is everything you would expect from the Science Times)
The Science of Yoga will be available Feb. 7, and Broad will be signing books at Anderson’s on February 11, and talking about it at the Larchmont Library at 3:30 March 25.
Rehearsals for the show, which begins Thursday at Hommocks
February 2-4, the Hommocks Middle School Players are performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this year. here’s what they sent over:
Set in biblical times, this show retells the well-known story of Jacob, his favored son Joseph and the eleven brothers who betrayed him.
It is a story of treachery and hardship, of love and loyalty, and of making your dreams come true.
Joseph is not your average musical. As a rock opera, songs dominate including numerous full ensemble pieces that will make the floor shake.
There is music for all varieties of music lovers as the songs shift from Western square dances to 50′s Rock n’ Roll pieces to Calypso beach strumming. With humor, bright characters and unforgettable music, it’s no wonder that on the thirtieth anniversary of its Broadway debut, Joseph remains a smash hit that charms audiences of all ages.
This year, Producer Dr. Jill Karliner along with Hommocks staff members Tom Jordon, Deanna Chorman and Pedro Johnson lead a cast and crew of over 100 students from the sixth, seventh and eight grades.
Purchase tickets at www.hmxmusicaltix.com. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.
Visit the website to donate tickets for families in need. Last year, donors made it possible for 60 community members to attend the show for free.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat performances in the Hommocks Auditorium, Larchmont:
Thursday, February 2nd at 7 pm
Friday, February 3rd at 7 pm
Saturday, February 4th at 2 pm and 7 pm
Westchester may have more writers per capita than any place in the country. You, too, can learn about writing prose, poetry, blogging, memoirs, food writing, young adult fiction….here:
The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center– is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1988 with a mission to advance the art and craft of writing by encouraging writers and readers at all levels to participate in and enjoy the literary arts. It offers classes for professional and amateur writers, presents public readings by well-known and emerging prose writers and poets, does outreach work in several community sites, and publishes at least one book of poetry each year under the imprint Slapering Hol Press.
The Center’s headquarters is the restored Philipse Manor railroad station, which overlooks the Hudson River in the village of Sleepy Hollow. Workshops include Blog Writing, How to Write Page Turning Fiction, Memoir Writing, Writing About Food, as well as workshops for young adults.
Learn to Tell: Storytelling Workshops atThe Rye Library: This winter and spring the Rye Storytelling Guild will offer a course in how to spin a good yarn. Classes held on the first Tuesday of each month from 6.30 to 8.30 pm and will focus on how and where to find a story you yearn to tell, how to shape and prepare the story, how to enhance its telling, the presentation of your story, and a celebration of storytelling graduates. Workshop led by celebrated storyteller Carol Birch. To sign up call 914.231.3161 or email Neva Winter at newinter4@optonline.net.
Adult and Young adult workshops at The Voracious Reader: Got a Work In Progress? Register now to prevent the winter blahs! Adult fiction classes will be held Thursdays, 12:00-2:00; February 5-April. 5th. Workshop Fee: $825.00. For adults writing YA or middle grade fiction: finish your work-in-progress or start a new one in this 10-week workshop with author, Phyllis Shalant, author and adjunct professor in the Graduate Writing Program at Manhattanville College. Call The VR at 914.592.2278 to register.
WritopiaLabs at The Voracious Reader–As part of its dedication to nurturing young writers, The Voracious Readerhas partnered with WritopiaLab, a wonderful national non-profit that offers writing workshops for kids from 8 to 18 years old. The Voracious Reader is the southern Westchester home of this group, with engaging and inspiring workshops led by director Lena Roy. “The kids practically run through our front door to get to their class!” says owner Francine Lucidon.
PLEASANTVILLE– The Jacob Burns Film Center tonight presents the work of film students at Purchase College, tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 pm:
See the work of up-and-coming young filmmakers from one of the country’s most esteemed programs, Purchase College’s School of Film and Media Studies. In this program of six shorts—we’re told it’s the best batch of films ever to come out of a senior class—we present an eerie thriller, a documentary, the animated story of a closet monster, and more.
Q&A student filmmakers from Purchase College’s School of Film and Media Studies and Associate Professor of Film Robert Siegel, an award-winning writer and director.
Thanks to Irvington resident DeLauné Michel Westchester has its only literary salon. Known as Spoken Interludes, it’s considered one of the best in the country.
Michel is author of two novels published by HarperCollins: Aftermath of Dreaming and The Safety of Secrets. She is an actor (Southern Gothic and NYPD Blue) and mother of two, and created Spoken Interludes to fulfill her fantasy of the “perfect dinner party.”
Michel comes from a family of writers: her uncle was author Andre Dubus, and she is first cousins with his son, Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog, Townie: A Memoir) and mystery writer James Lee Burke. Spoken Interludes is a true gem that began in 1996 in Los Angeles, where Michel was living at the time. It provides a relaxing atmosphere that combines fining dining with readings from best-selling authors.
The salon is held at Riverview in Hastings-on-Hudson and is catered by Chutney Masala. The evening begins with the guests arriving from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for a delicious buffet dinner. The readings follow from 7:30 until 8:30 p.m. Writers have included John Burnham Schwartz, Mona Simpson, David Denby, Arthur Phillips, Michael Korda, Marisa Silver, Arianna Huffington, Michael Connelly, Jay McInerney, Jennifer Egan, Jerry Stahl, Kathryn Harrison and Charles Bock. The evening winds down with book signing and chatting with the authors.
I met Michel for coffee in Irvington, where we talked about the inspiration behind Spoken Interludes, as well as its outreach writing program for at-risk children.
Melina Maresca: Tell me about the conception of Spoken Interludes.
DeLauné Michel: Spoken Interludes was a culmination of a couple different things that happened in my life. First was my dinner table as a child.
I was the youngest of five girls. My sisters were highly verbal and very intelligent. The dinner table was extremely competitive. It was intimidating for me and I adapted the role of the quiet one because I was the youngest. It really affected me. When I was in first and second grade, I stopped talking at the dinner table. I literally couldn’t speak. My mother and father would talk about their days, then my sisters would talk over each other about their days, and I simply couldn’t speak. My parents decided to set aside time every night for me to talk and all my sisters had to shut up. I realized later that what I’d done with Spoken Interludes is to recreate that dinner table. Everyone is talking and eating and then they shut up and one person gets up to speak.
Secondly was my feeling that there was a real need for the sort of connection among people over literature that simply was not happening in L.A., which is where I was living when it began. I was acting and writing there. During the holiday season in 1995, I really missed home and all the lavish parties my family would throw. I started having a lot of dinner parties in my tiny apartment and they were getting bigger and bigger. I kept thinking—my parties have really great audience development (that’s the producer in me) and the question was, why? Why are they better than most theater in L.A.? It’s because you can eat, drink, mingle and discuss interesting topics. The problem with theater in L.A. at that time—in the 1990s— and probably it continues today, is that there aren’t places to eat near the theaters and everything is car driven. Everyone disperses to his or her cars so you aren’t having that group communal experience. There is no time to catch someone’s eye, to hear other people talk about what they’ve just seen. I’m a big believer in the primal experience of story telling. That it fills a primal need for us as individuals in a community. The need to have stories in our lives and having stories told to us, which is actually what theater provides for us.
Thirdly, I have a love of literature and writing. So I thought, why not combine all three elements: writing, parties, and theater. Add the food and drink, so people are not rushing to get to the event. Break down the rows into tables so everyone is forced to converse with strangers. This is what people really want. And after everyone eats and mingles, everyone shuts up and listens to one person read his or her work.
It was an immediate success. It was the first of its kind. Nowadays there are all sorts of reading series in bars but at that point the only way you could see a writer was at a book signing in a bookstore or at a large lecture hall like the 92nd Street Y. There were no readings in restaurants or bars. I began doing two shows a month and they were immediately sold out. In the beginning, there were no published authors—just friends who were working on short stories, one-man shows, screenplays, novels, anything really. For a writer that’s important because you work on a manuscript for so long by yourself. The reward of connecting with readers is such a distant experience. I wanted to give writers a sense of that connection early on. I would let them come in and do a 15-minute reading and see how people feel about it.
MM: How did you take it to the next level?
DM: What catapulted things was when Christopher Rice—Anne Rice’s son— read in 1997. He read a short story he was working on and with the support from Spoken Interludes he eventually turned it into his great novel, A Density of Souls (2000). When Miramax published it, he told them he wanted to launch his book tour at Spoken Interludes in L.A. That’s what made the New York publishing world notice that there was a reading series in L.A. Soon the publishing companies in New York were booking their writers at Spoken Interludes. When I moved to Westchester, I shifted the base here but I still do two shows a year in L.A.
MM: How do you choose your authors?
DM: My mother taught me at young age how to cast a dinner party. You build the night around the starred couple. Then you add a couple that knows them loosely or is connected to them. And then you add a new couple who, because of some secondary interest, will add a spark to the evening. A dinner party is a show. That’s how I cast Spoken Interludes. There are always three authors in Westchester. First I pick a headliner—the heavy-hitting author that the night is built around. Then I get another well-known author with solid weight, but not as big as the headliner. Lastly, I always have a newcomer, someone exciting who brings fresh energy as a counter person to the two other authors. Each evening forms its own special magical interaction of these three minds and stories.
MM: Tell me about your non-profit.
DM: My education was severely disrupted by my parents’ divorce when I was 15. It was a horrific divorce that ended up in court. My high school education was really destroyed by that. As a result I have had a desire to help children whose schooling has been negatively affected by family circumstances.
I formed a non-profit called Spoken Interludes Next in 2000 in L.A. to help highly at-risk children and then I brought it to New York. It’s funded through individual donors, grants, and corporate sponsorships. I developed an eight week writing program where at-risk youth work in small groups with professional writers to learn how to write their own short story. The program culminates in a graduation reading for the students that family, friends, and the public attends for free. Our goal is to ensure that the next generation receives the literacy skills they need and deserve, while providing them with mentoring in communication skills, resourcefulness, and self-esteem.
In New York, we run the program at the four facilities: the Abbott House—a home for boys in the foster system, the Blythedale Children’s Hospital—a hospital for children with complex medical and rehabilitative needs, the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls— a school for developmentally disabled and emotionally disturbed youth, and the Greenburgh-Graham School—a school for developmentally disabled and emotionally disturbed youth.
MM: How could people get involved if they want to volunteer?
DM: Spoken Interludes Next holds an ongoing book drive to benefit the underprivileged children at Riverside Pediatrics Clinic in Yonkers, a medical clinic that provides free medical services. Through our efforts, over 3000 books have been distributed freely to these youth, helping them enjoy the world of reading. If you would like to contribute books, please call us at 914.307.1683. Or if anyone is interested in teaching the eight week course, please call us at the same number.
The Picture House is celebrating 2012 on January 19th with legendary guitarists Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli. The two will share stories about their careers and working with Sean Penn during the preparation and filming of Woody Allen’s movie SWEET AND LOWDOWN at a Q&A discussion after the screening. Then Alden and Pizzarelli will perform songs from the film as well as other original music.
This is also the first time since the silent film era that The Picture House has hosted such a concert on its stage. The new Community Stage, which was recently completed, now allows The Picture House to expand its programming opportunities.
From the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck:
Black 47 | $25 Jan 21, 2012 @ 8 pm
Espousing an unblinkingly political and thoroughly Irish form of rock ‘n’ roll through with raucous, heartfelt, and intelligent performances, Black 47 earned their chops playing the pub scene in Manhattan and self-producing their first record before gaining mainstream attention with their second, produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars. After years of relentless touring, the band’s signature eclectic sound, socially conscious lyrics and exciting concerts paved the way for other Irish-influenced bands such as Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys and inspired Time to write, “Finally, rock ‘n’ roll that means something again.”
It’s time for Beatlemania all over again…
Yesterday: The Beatles Tribute | $55 Jan 27, 2012 @ 8 pm
Yesterday: The Beatles Tribute spotlights the Fab 4′s career from the early days of the Cavern Club through Sgt. Pepper and beyond. Complete with Beatle boots, authentic costumes and instruments, Yesterday has brought their spot-on performance across the US and around the world.
In Stitches is one man’s journey to and through medical school. Growing up Korean-American in Michigan with a physician father didn’t give the author much choice in his career path. This novel is Tony’s odyssey through his years in medical school, residency and choosing a specialty.
Tony finds out early on that he’s not the smartest or most popular under-grad and has a difficult time adjusting to life as a student. Thinking medical school was going to change all that was Tony’s first mistake.
The next years of his life are filled with an extremely difficult curriculum, scary professors and the even scarier dating scene. Once Tony finds his groove, and some lifelong friends, the author miraculously finds humor in the pressure he gets from his conservative Korean parents and the demands of school.
But the novel has some serious moments as well. The case that changes Tony’s life and decides his field of medicine is heart wrenching. The interactions he has with his father are funny, sweet and somewhat awkward.
If you’re looking for a light read, something humorous or deciding whether or not to attend medical school – read this book.
Below is the list of Loop Book Club books thus far. Next book in two weeks.
Lucy Fradkin imbues her work with references to the ancient frescoes and mosaics of the Etruscans, Romans and Byzantines, capturing a timeless moment through a contemporary eye. For the past twelve years Fradkin has concentrated on a series of figurative works painted in oil or gouache on paper and board, at times incorporating collage. She is inspired by Indian and Persian miniatures, the vanishing art of hand-painted signage and sacred and folk-arts, often concentrating on quiet, solitary women in domestic settings. Inspired by the traditional, Fradkin pushes beyond, exploring issues of gender and race. The artist has exhibited extensively in the US and in Europe. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including, a 2009 Pollock-Krasner Grant, and a Marie Walsh Sharpe Studio Grant in 2011. This is the artist’s fifth exhibition at Kenise Barnes Fine Art.
Roxa Smithchooses intimate, emotionally charged subjects to convey sensibilities of place and time, both personal and shared. Her paintings strive to capture and distill fleeting moments through images devoid of people, yet evocative and teeming with life. Her works illuminate the ‘spirit’ of the space by highlighting architectural details, light sources and patterns within the compositions. Smith isolates and juxtaposes these elements, manipulating the space and lending to them extraordinary pictorial depth as well as a luminous display of color and warmth. In 1984 Smith received a dual B.A. in Art History and German from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME and she completed her Certificate Program in Visual Arts in 1987 at the University of Santa Cruz, CA.
On holiday break? A great excuse to pick up a classic novel.
I like to throw in a couple classic novels into my reading rotation. Some of these novels I read in school and others I am reading for the first time. I enjoy and appreciate the stories so much more reading them for the second time. However, not all classics have rocked my reading world. I struggled to get through The Grapes of Wrath…I didn’t start enjoying it until the last 200 pages.
So when I picked up Anna Karenina a few months ago I was a little apprehensive – a 900 page book written in 1875. It had been sitting in my “to be read pile” for over a year and was taunting me. Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t put it down! It grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let you go. Definitely not what I would consider light reading but if you are on the cusp of reading this book – go for it!
Another classic favorite is To Kill a Mockingbird. I had seen the movie starring Gregory Peck years ago and loved it. But read the book! The scenes between Atticus and his children are poignant. I found myself re-reading certain pages over and over again. Even though the ending was no secret, I stayed up all night until I finished it.
Maybe the book you choose will stay with you forever.
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