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Marlene Canapi

Theatre Comes Alive at Arc Stages in Pleasantville

April 25, 2025 by Pamela Brown

The creative arts bring forth emotions, feelings, and experiences and helps both youth and adults tap into personal growth toward living a more purposeful life. Arc Stages, a multifaceted arts organization in Pleasantville, is playing an integral role in introducing the power of the theater as a pathway toward living a fully engaged, connecting people with their imagination, and broadening their perspectives.

“Out of all of the benefits of theatre, the most important is that it promotes compassion and empathy. Society needs right about now, with the chance to learn about theatre, create theatre, and see professional theatre,” said Adam David Cohen, founder, and artistic director. Three additional founders include Marlene Canapi, chief growth strategist and cultural officer; Stephanie Kovacs Cohen, education stage, artistic director; and Ann-Ngaire Martin, community stage, artistic director. “Our mission is to perform, teach, and create art for and with the community,” Cohen added.

Three Theatre Companies Under One Roof

The unique organization, located at 147 Wheeler Avenue, is comprised of three theatre companies under one roof – The Next Stage, a professional theatre company that will produce high quality contemporary theatre as well as new works, cabaret, workshops and staged readings under contract with Actors’ Equity Association; The Community Stage, a community theatre company for a wide spectrum of actors, singers, and technicians to work on shows, both on and off stage; and The Educational Stage, an educational theatre company for all ages (ten months through adult) to explore the world of theatre though a professional rehearsal process, master classes, outreach, performance workshops, and intensive ensemble work.

“These three theatres better serve the community and its artistic needs. The idea of our organization is it’s an ‘arc’ encompassing all of the three types of stages we produce – education, community, and professional equity,” said Canapi, adding, “The concept gives our audiences a well-rounded theatre experience.”

Additionally, Arc Stages offers private coaching in voice; on-site after-school programs in improv, acting, and musical theatre; and a Visions & Voices Playwriting Residency, a BOCES-accredited program supported by ArtsWestchester, that introduces students to the world of the stage and self-expression and promotes literacy and writing skills.

This summer, the organization is featuring a robust summer camp comprised of classes in Acting Technique, Choreography, Improv & Theater Games, Stage Combat, Songwriting, Costume Design, Dance, and more. “The skills learned in these classes will be incorporated into the rehearsal of shows that will be performed at the culmination of each respective section,” said Canapi. “Our goal is to ready our physical footprint to open our season of shows starting in September.”

The concept for the theatre came from Martin who belonged to the Chappaqua Drama Group (CDG). “She had the idea to join forces with Adam David Cohen. At that time, Adam ran a theatre education program called the Little Village Playhouse. CDG sold the Chappaqua property and the sale was the seed money that helped fund Phase 1 of Arc Stages,” explained Canapi. From there, it has become a valuable space in the heart of the village of Pleasantville. “Arc Stages is part of the growth of the village. We’re fortunate to engage a community of theatre fans who are art lovers and supporters.”

Pleasantville Community Support

The village of Pleasantville is important to Canapi. “Years ago, I was part of a group of community leaders who worked at a Master Plan to elevate the downtown business district. We wanted to develop the identity of the village as an arts destination, with the Jacob Burns Film Center and the Gordon Parks Foundation and now Arc Stages. We believe we are indeed an arts destination,” she said, appreciating the immense community support the nonprofit has received. “It’s really amazing how we developed a theatre community who is so supportive of our Phase 2 effort to build a 150-seat Proscenium Theatre for performances.

The new theatre allows us to choose content with a bigger cast from a bigger library of theatre works, including socially relevant theatre. According to Cohen the new space will offer exceptional opportunities for everyone involved. “Theatre creates community, offers representation to marginalized communities, and inspires audiences. With this new space we will not have any limitations on what we produce; therefore, we will reach more people from different walks of life,” he said. Currently, the nonprofit is in its last phase of its Capital Campaign with a fundraising goal of $500,000.

Through Arc Stages, Cohen hopes to provide an enriching experience, along with thought- provoking fun. “A way to lose yourself in art but with a greater appreciation of humanity,” said Cohen who is a theatre composer who has worked in the industry teaching, directing, and musical directing since 1997. “For me, theatre provides a form of collaborative expression you can’t find anywhere else. Whether taking a class, performing in a show, working backstage or being in the audience, theatre takes us on a collective journey and helps us embrace our similarities and our differences. The magic of telling an important story on a stage through the collaboration of writers, composers, actors, designers, and countless others, never gets old. It’s always exciting, and quite often profound.”

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Arc Stages, Local theatre in Pleasantville, Marlene Canapi, theatre camp

Celebrating Service Above Self: A Look Back at the 2023 Awards at the Rotary Club of Chappaqua Charter Night

May 4, 2023 by Cynthia Schames

The Rotary Club of Chappaqua held its annual Charter Night on Wednesday May 3 at Crabtree’s Kittle House. Attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner and an awards ceremony highlighting the accomplishments of our four wonderful honorees. The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self”, and this sentiment extends to every member, in every town. The Rotary Club of Chappaqua has been proud to carry that banner for 40 years, with many community service projects including our annual New Castle Community Day, as well as Pancake Breakfasts, Drive In Movie Night, Day of Service, and Charter Night. 

 

Charter Night is an important event, as we honor both a Rotarian and a Community Member for their acts of service. In addition, we also recognize one or more local high school students for their community involvement, providing them with a scholarship. Each of this year’s honorees were given special certificates of recognition from the Rotary Club, as well as our State Assemblyman Chris Burdick, and by Michael Weinberg on behalf of our State Senator Pete Harckham. 

 

The 2023 Community Honoree is Dawn Greenberg, the founder and Executive Director of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. Dawn has long been involved in working for our community, including co-founding the organization which became 914 Cares, along with many other endeavors. The CCBF, now entering its tenth year, has grown to become the largest children’s book festival on the East Coast, and continues to get bigger and better each year. One key aspect of CCBF is the fact that they donate a significant number of books to schools, libraries and other deserving recipients as well. As Assemblyman Burdick said, “Dawn is truly a pillar of the community, and that’s a phrase I use very judiciously”. 

We are also honoring Rotarian Marlene Canapi as our 2023 Paul Harris Fellowship Award Winner. The Paul Harris Fellowship award is the highest honour the Rotary Club can bestow upon a person, and represents a combination of fellowship and extraordinary service to the community. Marlene is the Immediate Past President of our local Rotary Club, and led the Club through the throes of the Pandemic, when meeting in person–a core tenet of our commitment to fellowship–was all but impossible. Her extraordinary commitment and work ethic helped keep Chappaqua’s Rotary Club alive. Outside of Rotary, Marlene is the Executive Director for ARC Stages, in Pleasantville. ARC Stages is a community based arts organization and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Marlene was unable to attend the ceremony due to international travel, but will be formally recognized at an upcoming Rotary meeting.

 

Last but certainly not least, this year we are proud to honor the exceptional achievements and community service of two local high school students, who will each receive a Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. Our recipients are Nathan Dang, and Netra Easwaran, both seniors at Horace Greeley High School. Nathan is a 4.0 student who will be attending Cornell University in the fall, but closer to home, he helped organize the first TedxYouth talks at Greeley, volunteers at the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, works as an English teacher for students in Vietnam, as well as working as a kids’ gymnastics coach at World Cup. 

 

Netra is also an exceptional student, who will be attending Yale in the fall. She has served as a student panelist on the CCSD Hiring Panel, a student speaker of TruthSquad, and has served our local, county and state communities by interning in the offices of Senator Pete Harckham, County Executive George Latimer, and US Senator Chuck Schumer. Netra also serves as a volunteer on the White Plains Community Youth Court, which provides alternative adjudication for youth misdemeanors, and as the Head of Tutoring Services at Youth4Better, a 51(c)(3). 

 

Both Netra and Nathan related some of their experiences as students and as volunteers. Nathan’s story was touching as he relayed how personal his community service efforts are, as someone who immigrated to the US as a young child. Netra was eloquent and polished as she spoke of the depth of meaning she felt when working with the youth courts.  

 

It was a truly beautiful evening, filled with gratitude and celebration. Please join us in congratulating each of these extraordinary individuals and thanking them

for their service to our community! 

 

The Rotary Club might just be the quietest multi-billion-dollar organization you’ve never heard of, it is made up of remarkable people doing remarkable things in communities all over the world. Rotary International has over 1.4 million members worldwide in nearly 50,000 individual clubs. The Rotary Foundation has over $27B assets under management, funded entirely by its membership, and every year thousands of service projects are completed. Nevertheless, since many people aren’t very familiar with the organization, we cordially invite you to learn more about Rotary of Chappaqua and consider joining us at an upcoming meeting. More information can be found at rotaryofchappaqua.com. We hope to see you soon! 

 

Editor’s Note: This story and several of the photos were submitted by Cynthia Schames on behalf of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Not for Profit News Tagged With: community service, Dawn Greenberg, Marlene Canapi, Paul Harris Award, Rotary Club of Chappaqua, Scholarships

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