The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Grace Bennett

New Playground Sparks Joy at Roselle Park

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Roselle Park’s playground draws crowds every day

Zoe wasn’t walking across the cherished grounds of Roselle Park as her mom tried to keep up. She was doing the kind of sprint kids do when there’s something exciting afoot. That was because the brand-new Roselle Park playground was officially complete!

It’s not just the playground that draws locals and visitors alike. On any given afternoon, Roselle Park is teeming with activity: a softball game in one corner, preteens shooting hoops in another, a couple enjoying a picnic under the shade, and parents and nannies chatting and watching kids climb, swing, and explore.

The park is central to community life in the quaint Roselle School neighborhood, and with the new playground complete, the hood just got that much more adorable.
“It’s beautiful,” said Pleasantville resident Peter Damilatus, who was visiting the park with his three happy-to-be-there kids.

He was one of dozens of volunteers who showed up rain and shine to help assemble the playground in time for summer. “We definitely needed the replacing. The old equipment had a lot of wear and tear,” he said. “This is just awesome. It’s safe, brand new, and gorgeous.”

Mike Newman, Pleasantville’s Superintendent of Recreation and a father of two young kids himself, echoed that pride. “They had a crew of professionals organizing it, and the community powered through. Same as with Nannahagen,” said Newman. “It was a real community effort.”

The new climbing globe at Roselle Park is already a kid magnet

“We put out a mailer looking for volunteers to help design the playground and we were astounded by the response when 50 to 60 people signed up,” Newman shared. “We ended up selecting a fantastic group of eight community members who worked on everything from equipment choices to colors.”

The goal? “Replacing old with bigger, better, and more creative options,” he said. The Roselle Park upgrades followed those at Nannahagen Park, and an upcoming renovation is coming soon to Soldiers and Sailors Field.

Roselle’s new playground is bursting with innovative features. Kids can climb a massive “Global Motion” spinner, wobble across a twisting “Oodle Swing”, a boat-style swing, and discover ways to tackle the climbing structures. Even adults can lounge in the boat swing if they’re so inclined; when this reporter visited, one local dad was gently rocking his infant there – a reminder that the park is for everyone.

“We wanted to introduce multiple ways to climb, swing, and explore, plus have equipment that’s attractive, safe and ADA accessible,” said Newman.

The total cost for the three playground projects – Roselle, Nannahagen, and Soldiers and Sailors Field – was about $240,000. A $270,000 grant secured through former Assemblyman Tom Abinanti’s office helped cover the bulk of it, with additional funding from the village.
When I asked Zoe’s mom what she thought of the new space, she didn’t hesitate.

“You’ll get a better answer for that if you ask Zoe,” she said. Well, of course!

“I love it!” Zoe beamed, taking off for one of the slides.

Adieu… and Hello to my New ‘Not on Deadline’ Life

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Elise has graciously provided this space for a ‘final’ goodbye to Inside Press readers from its founding publisher – yours truly!

Upon launching the Inside Press with the Inside Chappaqua title in the spring of 2003, I had no concrete idea about the incredibly rewarding ride I was embarking on…

I have felt honored to be the recipient of several Westchester County awards, a speaker at events, a moderator on panels, and the crème de la crème opportunity took place the summer of 2012, when I joined Hillary Clinton for a 12-country State Department tour through Africa and Turkey. I will always be grateful to her of course but also equally appreciative of every sponsor and contributor to the company, too many to name in this short space.

More than accolades and recognition, however, I cherish the friends and memories made, the ‘little moments’ enjoyed at a myriad of fabulous events ‘inside’ the vibrant northern Westchester communities in which I raised and enjoyed great times with my beautiful kids.

Being a busy publisher also requires some breathing room. At the time that I launched, I had created an email address with the three words: ‘Not on Deadline.’ It was my ‘personal email’ address, and it came in handy navigating everything from travel arrangements to, ahem, the dating life. It was, by and large, my ‘fun’ space where I could step away from the all-consuming publisher role, one which Elise has stepped into with renewed vigor and pizzaz! I wish her all the best!

Today, I’m embracing being ‘Not on Deadline’ to hopefully pursue assorted project ideas including possibly a general blog space for assorted writings and musings and most importantly a memoir I hope to tackle over time. I didn’t retire so much as ‘take a pause’ to tap into other dreams.  If you wish to reach me now, write to: notondeadline@hotmail.com 

Wherever the next chapter takes me, ‘On Deadline’ or ‘Not on Deadline’, please know that I am grateful to all my readers for 22 years of support. Rest assured, I still plan to use my voice for positive change. I also encourage your continuing support to Elise and the entire Inside Press team! Wishing you all a very happy Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and much good health, happiness and success every day!

Grace Bennett
Founding Publisher

Arc Stages’ Jonathan Evan Goldberg on the Art, Joy, and Possibilities of Improvisation

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At an ‘after party’ following an August improvisation performance at Arc Stages (L-R) First Row: Grace Bennett, Joanna Schaffer, and Rose Pagano; Second Row: Jonathan Evan Goldberg, Mary Noecker, Andrew Laden, and Paul Carousso

When I came across the “improvisational comedy” workshop description for Pleasantville’s Arc Stages, I felt my heart leap. In transition, I thought this could tap my lighter side and get the creative juices flowing. I also had no idea just how much fun I was about to have.

So now, as I write this, I’m well into a second eight-week class working with instructor Jonathan Evan Goldberg. His popular class at Arc Stages began in 2017 when Jonathan, a labor and employment lawyer (by day) moved to Pleasantville with his wife, Tara, an elementary school principal in Rye Neck, from the Upper West Side with their then preschooler.

Each Monday evening class Jonathan runs two back-to- back, 1.5 hour sessions four times a year) with students who engage in goofy exercises (“ice breakers,” as Jonathan calls them) to warm up. Scene work follows with each of the students employing their own unique wit and personality quirks. The results can be entirely unpredictable and downright hilarious.

At the workshop’s end, we ‘perform’ for family and friends on stage at Arc.

So how did Jonathan, an accomplished legal mind by day, come to develop a lifelong passion for improv and become such a popular Westchester-based improv instructor?

Inquiring about his journey, I was delighted to learn of an avant-garde volunteer improv troupe he had launched in the city with friends called Cherub Improv.

But some background, first.

Some 20 years ago, in the midst of an intense legal career, Jonathan shared, an actress friend encouraged him to try improv. A Craig’s list ad for a $10 improv workshop proved hard to resist! He worked with John Swist, “the ‘Ninja’ of improv instruction,” he said, and models his own class today in a similar fashion. “His class was called ‘Quick Thinking Improv’ and had a very nice mix of people; most were like me… not there to ‘make it in the industry’; rather, they were doing it for fun, to laugh and destress… Improv helped me survive a career in which I was slaving away.”

Jonathan also found Improv a way to make brand new “very likable and funny friends” who enjoyed making each other laugh. Swist’s classes often ended in a class show performed on stage at the city’s iconic Producer’s Club.

At the time too, Jonathan, still unclear about his life’s direction, had agreed to getting life coached by his father, Edward Goldberg, the former Chancellor of Higher Education in New Jersey. When I met with Jonathan, his dad had recently passed at Calvary Hospital. He proudly recalled that his dad encouraged him to combine his spirit of volunteerism and passion for improvisation and form a volunteer improvisation troupe.

“Cherub Improv” (cherubimprov.org) was thus born in NYC in 2007. Jonathan assembled a core group who travelled to hospitals, assisted living, and other venues (“wherever laughs were needed!”) to perform and teach free improv comedy. Before long, the troupe boasted scores of volunteers with 15-20 gigs a month. But then Covid hit.

Jonathan vows to bring the troupe back to Westchester, NYC, NJ, and wherever they can travel. “You have a captive audience aching to laugh; they might be lonely or miss their loved ones or have lost friends; it’s not easy.”

“In honor of my dad, I’m going to make it happen,” said Jonathan, all while continuing teaching at Arc Stages–Pleasantville’s beloved theater community that he discovered while playing basketball in an over 30 group at Pleasantville High School. During that time, one of the players, Matt Finkelstein, introduced Jonathan to Arc’s executive director, Marlene Canapi, and the rest of the team invited Jonathan to teach.

States Stephanie Kovacs Cohen, Arc’s Artistic Director of the Educational Stage, “Jonathan is truly a gifted teacher of improvisation. He is very warm, friendly, and clever. He has a great sense of humor… The class is filled with laughter from everyone much of the time.”

Jonathan, adds Stephanie, started this class with just a handful of people and it has grown to two classes of different levels. “The students return because they love what they are learning from Jonathan.”

Understanding Improv

So much to love.

Jonathan offered: “It’s a way for the students to communicate freely, creating something real and funny and spontaneous and insightful…

“The discipline of improv is to ‘say yes.’ If someone makes a statement, the improv actor accepts the role and information in a scene, so that they can work together to build something from scratch.

“Some people are naturally funny… But you can develop skills that make you funnier… Through the warm-up exercises, students feel supported and free to say things that might otherwise be outside their comfort zone.”

Ultimately too, improv is a huge confidence builder that can enhance different facets of your life.

Per Stephanie: “Jonathan imparts the idea that mistakes are gifts on stage–that it’s OK to take a risk, dare, and fall, so that next time when you try, you might fly.

“The students learn skills such as listening, staying flexible, and being in the moment, as well as working as an ensemble, making your partner look good and having a blast while you do all of it!

“The benefits they gain in this class like confidence, focus, and working with others can be useful in life anywhere, no matter what their occupation.”

Jonathan concurs: “No one is singling anyone out for being wrong, or not funny, or not smart… you start to feel, ‘hey I can do this. And if I can do this, I can do anything!”

For more information about Jonathan’s Improvisational Comedy class and about Arc Stages, visit arcstages.org

From the Mouths of Improv Students

A few students explained their own motivation for taking improv and their experiences studying with Jonathan.

Paul Carousso, a Chappaqua resident and CFO at a chemical manufacturing company, who has been studying with Jonathan for five years:

“Jonathan is a fantastic teacher…
I began classes simply to let off some steam, not to take myself so seriously, and to get a little silly. But my favorite aspect of the class is seeing my classmates open up and be unfiltered and freely creative…

“I have seen people who appear shy or reserved outwardly come up with the most wild and crazy scenes or lines. Hilarious.

“My kids are (mostly) grown by now, but after so many years of eyerolls and head-shaking when I’d spout Dad Jokes and act generally silly, it’s so nice to have a safe space to act like a goofball!”

Whitney Harris, a Sleepy Hollow-based screen writer and freelance health and parenting reporter:

“A good friend and writing partner suggested we enroll in Jonathan’s class, so we did it together… I was looking to have fun, challenge myself in a new way, and spark some personal creativity… I’m currently working on a television pilot with my writing partner, and we were very interested in expanding our creative process and meeting like-minded people.

“Improvisational skills make every conversation infinitely more engaging and empathetic… It makes human interaction purely playful and energizing since you’re working together to create funny moments…

“It helped me sharpen my mind, think on my feet, and meet great people along the way. And the occasional boost of confidence from a well-delivered line is priceless.”

Joanna Schaffer, a self-proclaimed introvert who commutes to the class from Brewster:

“A friend in my Toastmasters Club gave a speech on how impactful Jonathan’s improv class had been. He encouraged me to come to a class. That was two years ago, and I haven’t missed a session since… Jonathan makes us all feel welcome and special and talented… I tell everyone… it’s recess for adults.

“Throughout life, I wanted to be a participant, I wanted to step into the circle – be the one cracking jokes or singing a song to entertain everyone, but… I was just too introverted… now I feel I can fully participate in life.

“In our last show, for over three minutes, I shared the stage with one other “player” as we created a scene on the spot – all while performing as if we were in an opera. The laughs were the most powerful feedback anyone could ever hope to receive…”

White Bird: How Mark Bomback’s Screenplay Captures the Enduring Power of Kindness

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A must see this holiday season, particularly as Hanukkah approaches, and with many of us still praying for a miracle for the hostages in Gaza (at the time of this writing, October 16, 2024, 101 still trapped after over a year of captivity), is the movie White Bird.

Helen Mirren, playing the grandmother of a teenage boy named Julian, sets out to share some profound lessons about bullying and exclusion – but ultimately also about the power of kindness – by finally relaying ‘her story’.

In so doing, Mirren transports us all to the terror-filled period of Jews running and hiding and being subject to humiliation, round ups, deportation and genocide in Nazi-occupied France.

The portraits of characters you may well retain the most, however, are those of the courageous ‘righteous’ gentiles (Gillian Anderson offers a particularly poignant performance) who risked their own lives to save Jews. Stellar portrayals by newcomers Ariella Glaser and Orlando Schwerdt depict teenagers around whom the story of survival revolves.

The terrible hate and meanness depicted in the movie would leave anyone despondent. But it’s the acts of kindness that leave you breathless and hopeful for humankind.
White Bird, an amalgam of several stories, according to one of its executive producers and its screenplay writer Mark Bomback, was born from the graphic and groundbreaking best-selling novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

The book’s message was ultimately about the value of being kind to other people, said Bomback, a father of four in Chappaqua. “It’s a miracle that the book became so popular with such an uncynical message,” he said.

“There’s a tendency, not just among groups, but even among individuals, to be callous to one another, to close yourself off, whether through social media, or because you are aligned with one group,” Bomback continued, “and to decide that you can’t possibly interact with the other group, yet it’s kindness that is ultimately more powerful than any other action that people can take.”

Consider Orlando who plays the original Julian with polio who is mocked by his classmates prior to the Nazis arriving. “There’s a primal impulse to belittle or marginalize someone else to make ourselves feel more secure,” noted Bomback. His evolving relationship with Arielle proves how erroneous that impulse can be. Later, we observe how the Nazi extermination plans include anyone who they considered genetically inferior.

Bomback explained that the movie’s agenda “isn’t to traumatize the audience. It is to put them in a head space in which they are very aware of the amount of pain and cruelty human beings are capable of but ultimately you can still celebrate the power that kindness has,” he said, adding that kindness is in fact one of the most useful weapons we have at our disposal to combat hatred.

I asked Bomback if he anticipates success for the film at the Box Office. He said after producing such a movie, “success becomes secondary… everything that comes after creating it is a bonus”. Bomback’s father-in-law, notably, was a Holocaust survivor who recently passed away. “I felt some degree of authority and accountability in trying to tell this story.”

Spooky Times Arrive at the ‘Twilight Village’ of Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow!

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Sleepy Hollow, NY– At the expansive “Twilight Village” now at the historic Philipsburg Manor, through November 3, grab family and friends for a chance to mingle with ghostly creatures and spirited legends! The event is appropriate for all ages even little ones!

Traveling solo? That’s fine! Buddy up with your fertile imagination as you stroll across the dimly lit bridge, contemplate lights bouncing off water or the neon shadows cast on tall imposing trees and the dare-to-enter ‘residences’, all on a perfect autumn night. It’s rather… romantic. Think… date night!

If your imagination goes into overdrive, no worries. Several pop up shops will delight and calm you.

There are games (the teens will especially love) to blow off earthly steam.

But first… consider treating yourself  and your entourage to a clever magic show in which human hosts call upon spirited characters of Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow, while also enlisting audience members participation to achieve feats that will leave you positively agape…

The heart of the evening’s experience includes sightings of a most spirited Headless Horseman, a group of flame throwers, and an animated story teller in the old Barn!

Reach for apple cider donuts  if hunger pangs kick in. This correspondent, starved after the tour, and it being only 7 p.m., also suggests that you be sure to visit one of Sleepy Hollow’s many fine restaurants.

It takes a village. A village devoted to its legends, too.

Either upon arrival, or before you leave, do stop by a packed gift shop for a multitude of colorful gift ideas for everyone on your list, too!

This is one of those ‘you can’t go wrong’ evenings.

May the Spooky Mood Stay with You! 

For more information and for tickets, visit https://hudsonvalley.org/events/twilight-village-at-sleepy-hollow/