Gotta Have Arts

The Wait Room to be Performed Outside Sing Sing

August 2, 2019 by The Inside Press

OSSINING, NY- The Sing Sing Prison Museum and Bethany Arts Community proudly present the East Coast premiere of The Wait Room, an outdoor dance program honoring the lives of women whose loved ones are incarcerated.

Commissioned by San Francisco’s Flyaway Productions, four performances will be presented Friday, September 20 at 8 pm; Saturday, September 21 at 3 pm and 8 pm; and Sunday, September 22 at 3 pm at Louis Engel Park on the Hudson River waterfront, just outside the walls of Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining.

Choreographer Jo Kreiter, recipient of a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship who has had a loved one incarcerated, says, “The Wait Room is the most personal work I’ve undertaken since founding Flyaway Productions in 1996. The dance is performed on a motorized set piece that invokes the instability experienced by wives, mothers and daughters when their loved ones are imprisoned.”

The setting in Ossining’s Louis Engel Park is near a decommissioned prison guard tower and a children’s play area, which is a comment on the theme of the dance relating to how families and children are affected by incarceration.

The first presentation of The Wait Room on the East Coast has been made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Tickets to see The Wait Room are $25 each and are available online at

The Wait Room All proceeds will benefit the Sing Sing Prison Museum and are tax-deductible. Donations beyond the purchase price will be used to give free tickets to the families of incarcerated individuals. For more information, contact the Sing Sing Prison Museum at 914-236-5407 or at info@singsingprisonmuseum.org.

ABOUT FLYAWAY PRODUCTIONS

Founded in 1996 by Jo Kreiter, Flyaway Productions is an apparatus-based dance company that explores the range and power of female physicality and advances social issues in the public realm. The company uses the artistry of spinning, flying and suspension to engage political issues. Flyaway creates dances on both architectural and fabricated steel objects, with dancers suspended anywhere from two to 100 feet off the ground. Flyaway has a long history of transforming oral history into public art, articulating the experiences of unseen women. www.flyawayproductions.com

ABOUT SING SING PRISON MUSEUM

Sing Sing Prison Museum, slated to open in 2025, will be the extraordinary location where the complex and compelling stories of two hundred years of incarceration will be shared with the public on the grounds of America’s most historic active prison, Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY. Through its exhibitions, collections and programs, Sing Sing Prison Museum will provide a forum for the examination of historic and contemporary issues in the criminal justice system, and their social, political and cultural impact. www.singsingprisonmuseum.org

ABOUT BETHANY ARTS COMMUNITY

The mission of Bethany Arts Community is to create a space and environment where the many forms of art can be learned, produced and flourish. Artists of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to explore and create art that the community can experience and be engaged in while enhancing their perception and perspective of the world. BAC aims to inspire sharing, connection and collaboration in a culture designed for the benefit of the local community and beyond. www.bethanyarts.org.

REVIEWS FROM WEST COAST PERFORMANCES

News courtesy of Sing Sing Prison Museum and Bethany Arts Community

Armonk Resident to Star in TUCK EVERLASTING the Musical

August 1, 2019 by The Inside Press

For Nick Varsames, performing has always been an integral part of his life; he loves it because for him, it is an escape from everyday life. Soon, he will have a chance to perform once again. The Armonk resident has been cast in the White Plains Performing Arts Center’s Stage 2 production of Tuck Everlasting, opening this weekend and running August 2-11.

Varsames started performing at the age of seven while living in Colorado. When he moved to New York five years ago, WPPAC became his theatrical home. At sixteen years old, this was the first year he was eligible to audition for the Stage 2 program and he jumped at the chance. He loves Tuck Everlasting, because, in his words, “this show specifically holds both a sense of realism and escapism with the idea of immortality.”

A heartwarming, rapturous musical about living life to the fullest, Tuck Everlasting centers around a girl named Winnie Foster. When she goes looking for adventure and meets a family with a fabulous secret, their chance encounter will change them all forever. The show explores eternal love, never-ending life, and what it means to truly feel alive.

Along with Varsames, Tuck Everlasting stars Haylie Shea as Winnie Foster and features Matthew Rafanelli as Jesse Tuck, Mikey Marmann as Miles Tuck, Gabi Garcia as Mae Tuck, Daniel Pivovar as Angus Tuck, Maurice Chinnery as Constable Joe, Nathan Clift as Hugo, and local favorite John Anthony Lopez, as the Man in the Yellow Suit. The cast also includes Gracie Bryant, Kimberly Burgering, Catherine Cavender, Kyle Hanchar, Jason Herring, Liberty Laferriere, Quiana Leigh, Kevin Lynch, Annastasia Mercedes, Leighann Navarro, Alexis Paige Miller, Sierra Nelson, Paolo Robert Perri, Sammy Quinn, Zack Tashoff, Remi Tuckman, Christie Vozniak, Madison Watson, and Rebecca Zeller.

TUCK EVERLASTING is directed by Amy Griffin and choreographed by Kelli Gautreau with musical direction by Stephen Ferri. Scenic Design by Travis A. George, Costume Design by Heather Craig, Lighting Design by Jamie Roderick, Sound Design by Joel Abbott, Stage Managed by Jack Rhea. Music by Chris Miller, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, book by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle, based upon the novel by Natalie Babbitt.

For tickets visit the theatre box office Monday-Friday (11am-6pm), purchase the tickets online at wppac.com or call 914-328-1600. For Group Sales, please contact boxoffice@wppac.com.

TUCK EVERLASTING is produced by Stage 2, a program created by WPPAC to bridge the gap between our Education programs and Mainstage, giving college and community performers the chance to work in a regional theatre under the guidance of professional artists. More information can be found at http://wppac.com/shows/tuck-everlasting/

News courtesy of the White Plains Performing Arts Center

Superb: Dorothy Lyman’s The Gladstone Hollow

June 21, 2019 by Grace Bennett

June 20, 2019, North Salem–To sell the farm or to keep the farm? That is the question. This is an unforgettably touching story at the charming Schoolhouse Theater—a lens into one family’s intense struggles & differences—and all the accompanying (sometimes painfully self-absorbed, sometimes gloriously life affirming) behaviors and roller coaster emotions displayed by members of three distinct generations regarding ‘what to do’ about the family matriarch, a proud, capable, good humored but still aging & vulnerable mom, living alone on a beloved family farm and happy despite the inevitable challenges of aging.

A frightening accident on the farm injuring Elizabeth convinces her daughter Betsy that it’s time to sell the great big but unwieldy farm and move mom to a retirement community in Florida–but Elizabeth is not having any of it without a fight. In her corner: her granddaughter Christie and Christie’s outspoken and driven fiancé Jason, along with loyal support from a woman she took under her wings, Liz, a woman who at times seems more like a daughter to her than her own, a sidebar to the story, challenging the notions of “who is family” too. There are modern day themes woven into this marvelous script as well, including dialogue alluding to our present administration, and a poignant theme involving gun violence. I’ll say no more.

The Gladstone Hollow: The Farm Play, was written by the extraordinary two-time Emmy award winning actress, Dorothy Lyman, who is well, perfect, and powerfully convincing in the lead role of Elizabeth as well. Directed by The Schoolhouse Theater Artistic Director Bram Lewis. Excellent ensemble, including Chappaqua’s own Frank Shiner (yes, he can act too!), playing Elizabeth’s no nonsense and bordering on belligerent son in law, Tom, leading the charge together with his anxiety ridden wife (Thea McCartan as Betsy) despite the kinder and gentler Meredith Handerhan (Christie), Eric Bryant (Jason or ‘Josh’…see the play to understand..), and Jean Lauren Smith (Liz). 👏 👏👏👏Through June 30. Visit www.schoolhousetheater.org

(L-R): Eric Bryant (Jason), Frank Shiner (Tom), and Meredith Handerhan (Christie). Photo by Doug Abdelnour

(L-R): Thea McCarten (Betsy), Dorothy Lyman (Elizabeth) and Jeanne Lauren Smith (Liz) Photo by Doug Abdelnour

Exhibit Opening Reception: Mary Ellis – So Far Pop Art to Abstract Expressionism

May 31, 2019 by The Inside Press

This exhibition represents the fusion of Mary Ellis’ process over a 15 year time span. In her evolution from Pop Art to Abstract Expressionism, Ellis has merged her graphic and Fine Art skills into one expression, a continuous emerging of style, composition and technique.

ABOUT MARY ELLIS

For over 40 years, Mary Ellis has been internationally recognized for her Pop Art icons that appear on thousands of gift products. She is a graphic artist and an Abstract Expressionist painter. Ellis grew up in Croton, and now lives in Briarcliff Manor. She received her BFA degree from Pratt Institute. Having studied under Alex Katz, Richard Linder, Mercedes Matter, and Robert Mallory, Mary developed her own unique style.

A number of years ago products that Mary was making for retail consumption had grown dramatically, taking time away from Ellis’ painting. Something inside told her she needed to return to her passion for painting if she wanted to be happy and fulfilled as an artist. She began painting with, intensity, commitment, and discipline, something that had been missing for a long time. This retrospective, Mary Ellis-So Far, represents the fusion of Ellis’ process over a 15 year time span. In her evolution from Pop Art to Abstract Expressionism, Ellis has merged her graphic and Fine Art skills into one expression, a continuous emerging of style, composition and technique.

Exhibit on Display: June 8th to June 30th

Opening Reception: June 8th 6-9pm

Gallery Hours: Thursday-Sunday 10am-4pm

Mary is dedicating a generous portion of the proceeds from this show to establish an Art Supply Fund for children at Bethany Arts Community. Contact BAC to help this fund grow.

Ossining Jazz Festival: The Improvisor’s Art

May 31, 2019 by The Inside Press

The third annual Ossining Jazz Festival will take place on the evenings of Friday and Saturday June 8 and June 9. The event, which will feature four different musical acts performing at the Ossining Elks Lodge, is an excellent opportunity for audiences to enjoy a range of top-notch practitioners of jazz, a.k.a. America’s Great Musical Idiom and the Improvisor’s Art, in an intimate setting.

This year’s Ossining Jazz Festival features a night each of Contemporary and Latin jazz, two crowd-pleasing styles.

Ted Daniel, a renowned jazz trumpeter, Ossining native and Artistic Director of the OJF comments “Ossining has a rich musical heritage, and so it is only fitting that we showcase a spectrum of the artists and sounds that have inspired us. The only way we keep this wonderful musical art alive is by giving audiences a chance to experience it right as often as possible.” Michelle Concha Herko, Executive Director of the OJF adds “Our festival is one way of accomplishing this, and we’re pleased to back for our third year.”

The double bill on Friday, June 7 at the Elks Club, dedicated to hard bop or straight-ahead jazz, will feature the Rory Stuart Quartet at 7:30 PM and drummer Abe Speller and his band at 9 PM. The lineup on Saturday, June 8 includes Michael Tate and 3D Rhythm of Life at 7:30 PM and Nelson Riveros at 9 PM. Tickets are $20 for one band only, $35 for a one-night festival pass and $60 for a two-day festival pass.

The Friday night performances of the Ossining Jazz Festival are sponsored by the Cortlandt School of Performing Arts in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

More information can be found at the festival’s website, ossiningjazzfestival.com