Author Archives: beth

Let Your Voice Be Heard: Spoken-Word Performance Workshops

At the Spotlight-Stage and microphoneSt George Library Center, 5 Central Ave (@Hyatt St), SINY 10301.           A spoken-word-performance workshop for adults age 55+.  Our free eight-week series takes place on Saturday afternoons, January 17 – March 14.

Upcoming sessions: Saturday, Jan 24 at 3pm,  Sat, Jan 31 at 2:30pm, Sat February 7 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 14 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 21 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 28 at 2:30pm, Sats March 7 & 14 at 2:30pm.

Have you ever wanted to get onstage at an open mic event, but hesitated to stand in front of an audience?  Have you ever felt uncertain when asked to make a toast at a wedding, or to speak in at a meeting or at some special occasion?  Our workshops will help you get comfortable in Staten Island OutLOUD’s spoken-word events, and in other aspects of public speaking.  If you want to read poetry at an open-mic, audition for a performance or make comments at a meeting our workshops will help you build confidence.  We’ll help you develop skills to present yourself effectively, enjoy the experience – and let your voice be heard!

Staten Island OutLOUD offers this 8-week workshop on developing and strengthening your spoken word performance skills.  And guess what?  Those skills will also help you communicate more effectively one-on-one, in small-group settings, on the phone, and in many other informal situations.

Here are some of the topics that our workshop series will explore: Introduction to voice & speech technique, movement, breath control, creating & structuring your script, speech, rehearsal technique, tricks for getting comfortable onstage, using a microphone, understanding and overcoming “stage fright”, engaging with your  audience, preparing for the unexpected.

 

 

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When They Could Fly

Saturday, January 10, 2015.  8pm at Every Thing Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301

Staten Island OutLOUD’s series on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird continues with this free screening of a beautiful film by Polish filmmaker Piotr Kajstura, who is now based in New York City.

Winner of multiple film festival awards, this film combines magical realism with slave folk takes of the Deep South.  It is a lovely way to highlight some of the messages of Mockingbird:  Hope, community, questioning what we think we know, and striving against all odds.  The filmmaker will join us to talk about this unusual film; here’s your chance to enter into a dialogue about a very special project.

Baritone Anthony Turner will be our musical guest; he’ll sing I’ll Fly Away and other 19th century spirituals.  A Staten Island resident, Anthony has sung at the Kennedy Center, toured internationally with Laurie Anderson in Songs & Stories from Moby Dick, performed with Jessye Norman and appeared on the PBS Great Performances series, “Aida’s Brothers & SIsters”.When They Could Fly-arms outstretched

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O Great Mystery, Renaissance Reflections on Nine Lessons

Sunday, December 28, 3:30pm at St Marks In-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th Street, NYC 10003Renaissance dark angels

Staten Island OutLOUD is proud to join this seasonal concert by Voyces, a Staten Island-based early music ensemble.  We’ll read from traditional Lessons for the winter holiday season.  Our spoken word will be illuminated with music by Praetorius, Jacob Handl, Richard Deering, Thomas Ravenscroft, and everybody’s favorite Renaissance team, Anonymous and Traditional.  Two settings of O magnum mysterium by Victoria and Gabrieli will encapsulate this rich program.

Voyces is dedicated to the study & performance of Renaissance and Baroque vocal works.  Voyces is directed by its founder Beth Johanning, a Staten Island resident. Staten Island OutLOUD thanks Ms. Johanning for inviting us to join Voyces.

This event is free and open to the public.  St Marks In-the-Bowery is an historic house of worship dating back to early European settlement in New York.  It is a widely-respected center for music, dance, experimental theatre and poetry, and diverse community gatherings.  St. Marks’ musical programming is directed by Jeannine Otis, a Staten Island resident, and a longstanding friend of Staten Island OutLOUD.

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A Gift that Changed Her Life

06_Lampman_portrait_artistSat, Dec 6, at 7:00pm   at SI MakerSpace, 450 Front St , SINY 10304. (Located at the corner of Thompson Street, a block off Bay St, & 2 blocks from Tappen Park). Plenty of free parking on the adjacent lot & surrounding streets.

Performance artist DB Lampman explores “Christmas To Me”, Harper Lee’s seldom-read memoir about a life-changing gift.

Our readers: Phoebe Blue and Mary Hernandez Ceribello.

When two friends surprised Harper Lee on Christmas morning of 1956, they created a rare opportunity: a year off to do nothing but write.  Their generous gift led her to finally publish To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ms. Lampman will create a tableau that cross-cuts between Harper Lee’s life as a struggling young writer in NYC in the 1950s, with her own film, The Bird – created when she won the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Award.  DB’s award, like Miss Lee’s surprising gift, gave her a year off to focus solely on her art.

SI MakerSpace is an exciting waterfront studio, offering dozens of cool programs for all ages!  Visit their website for their current schedule of cool classes for all ages:   www.makerspace.nyc

 

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“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men-coverSun, Nov 23, at 2:00pm  at Creative Photographers’ Gallery, 814 Richmond Terrace @Tysen St, SINY 10301 (enter via red door on Tysen St)

Photographer Gail Middleton hosts a dialogue on James Agee & Walker Evans’ stunning photo essay, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.  This remarkable book concerns rural Alabama during the Depression, the era & location where To Kill a Mockingbird took place.

Plenty of free parking on the street.

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“Mockingbird” & “When Children Discover America”

Harper-Lee-1961-rockingchair-sneakersSat, Nov 22, at 2:00pm    at Clay Pit Ponds State Park, 2351 Veterans Rd West (@Sharrotts Rd), SINY 10309

We’ll read from To Kill a Mockingbird, together with an unusual selection: “When Children Discover America”.  This essay, which is not well know, is Harper Lee’s observation on what America means to children. Join us for a community conversation, followed by a forest walk. weather permitting.

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“Mockingbird” and a Tottenville Story

Craig Ave Palace Theatre-1920 postcardSat, Nov 15, at 7:00pm  at the historic Conference House, 7455 Hylan Blvd, SINY 10307

Staten Island OutLOUD hosts a candlelight conversation on “Mockingbird” and its fictional town of Maycomb. We’ll compare Maycomb with Tottenville’s history, people & special character.

Was there a Boo Radley of Tottenville?

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Boo Radley’s Back Yard

Radley yard-fenceSun, Nov 9, at 2:00pm   at the Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314

Explore the creaking trees & spooky shadows of Boo Radley’s back yard. Forest walk, weather permitting; kids may find Boo’s treasures among the trees.

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Harper Lee & Truman Capote

Lee-Capote-Book coversSaturday, Nov 8, 2:00pm at the Noble Maritime Collection, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island NY 10301

It is well known that the character of Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird is based on Truman Capote, Harper Lee’s childhood friend. Similarly, Harper Lee inspired Idabel, Capote’s pivotal character in his breakthrough novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms. Their friendship continued into adulthood, as Lee worked closely with Capote on research and writing for Capote’s In Cold Blood.

Staten Island OutLOUD hosts an afternoon of readings & conversation on Harper Lee, and Truman Capote. Our special guest is Staten Island writer/publisher Danforth Prince, co-author of Pink Triangle, which examines Capote’s life and work. 

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“Mockingbird” Film Screening @St George

Mbird Movie poster-Confronts the crowdFriday, Nov 7, 2:30pm at the St George Library Center, 5 Central Ave, SINY 10301

A free screening of the Academy Award-winning film version of To Kill a Mockingbird.

 

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