Author Archives: beth

Thursday, Oct 16, 3:00pm  at Historic Richmond Town’s Museum, 441 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306

Everyone is invited to this afternoon event, when Sarah Clark, the Curator at Historic Richmond Town, shows objects from the collection that date from 1932-35, the era in which To Kill a Mockingbird is set. We’ll read & discuss Harper Lee’s book as we discover clothing, photographs, household items and other fascinating objects similar to those used by Scout, Jem, Atticus, Calpurunia, Aunt Alexandra, Miss Maudie and their neighbors in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama.  

Are there similarities between Maycomb and Staten Island?  When you see one particular item that Sarah found in a mysterious box, you may be astounded by her discovery!

It’s an unusual opportunity to connect the fictional world of Mockingbird’s Maycomb, Alabama with the lives of Staten Islanders in the 1930s, when the novel takes place.  You can read excerpts from Mockingbird with your neighbors (or just sit back & enjoy being read to) while experiencing authentic, tangible reminders of American life during the Depression era.

This event is good for all ages.

SUNDAY, OCT 12, 3:30PM.  At St Mary’s Episcopal Church, 347 Davis Ave (at Castleton Avenue), SINY 10310   (Originally planned for Sept 21, now rescheduled for Sunday, Oct 12)

A spoken word performance with music and dance, plus an old-fashioned lemonade social, part of Staten Island OutLOUD’s Autumn 2014 series for the National Endowment for the Arts/The Big Read, featuring Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  Weather permitting, our performance will begin in the shady church courtyard, and will progress across the lawn and inside the church.  (If it rains, our entire performance will take place inside the church.)

Music by Allergic to B’s, featuring Joan & Gary Moore.  We’ll feature a dance performance by Melissa West & Rosita Roldan, with musical accompaniment by Tom Bones.  Choreography by Melissa West.

Our cast of neighbors will include Virginia Allen, Phoebe Blue, James Hill, Nan Smith, Joseph Smith, and others TBA.  They’ll  introduce Scout, Jem and Atticus Finch, their beloved caregiver Calpurnia, their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley, and the people of Maycomb, Alabama in the summer of 1932, when the story begins. You’ll hear more about Harper Lee’s life and work.  Some neighbors will share short readings from the novel and from other related work.  You’ll hear about the fearsome Radley house, and about some of Maycomb’s less congenial citizens.

You’ll hear about something that changed their lives.

SUNDAY, OCT 12, 3:30PM.  At St Mary’s Episcopal Church, 347 Davis Ave (at Castleton Avenue), SINY 10310     (Previously announced for Sun, Sept 21 – rescheduled for Sunday, Oct 12)

A spoken word performance with music and dance, to kick off Staten Island OutLOUD’s Autumn 2014 series for the National Endowment for the Arts/The Big Read, featuring Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Dancer/choreographer Melissa West will perform with Rosita Roldan, accompanied by musician Tom Bones.  OutLOUD’s cast of readers includes: Virginia Allen, Phoebe Blue, Melissa West, Joseph Smith, Donna Deminio, and Nan Smith.  Our event is hosted by James Hill.

Students who attend this event an get a free copy of To Kill a Mockingbird  (while supplies last)

Saturday, Oct 11, 8pm at Every Thing Goes Book Cafe & Neighborhood Stage, 208 Bay Street, SINY 10301

This event is part of Second Saturday, a free monthly art walk on Staten Island’s North Shore.

Joan & Gary Moore, with special guest Jeannine Otis, will perform music of the American Civil Rights movement, which underscored key events that coincided with the publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  In fact, some of those events occurred in Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, not far from Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama (the inspiration for Mockingbird’s fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama).

Our cast of readers includes:  Joan Pipkins, David Seeley (who worked on enforcement of the Civil Rights Act as a young attorney with the Dept of Justice), Rachel Isaacs, Ted Lochwyn, Edwina Martin & Dawn Reid-Green,   We’ll discuss excerpts from the novel, together with texts concerning some of the flashpoints in the American civil rights movement that Mockingbird helped catalyze.

For example, we’ll feature two new books about the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in honor of its 50th anniversary.

We’ll consider the 60th anniversaries of the death of Emmett Till, and of the U. S. Supreme Court’s historic school desegregation decision. We’ll recall the courage of the Freedom Riders. We’ll also explore texts concerning the Scottsboro Boys, which partly inspired the courtroom chapter in “Mockingbird”. 

Tuesday, Sept 30, 6pm at the Stapleton Branch Library, 132 Canal St, SINY 10304

The awesome librarians at the Stapleton branch welcome you and your friends to talk about To Kill a Mockingbird and share ideas with your neighbors.  Free & open to the public.  Get a free book!

Sunday, Sept 28, 2:00pm, in the Courthouse at Historic Richmond Town, 441 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306.

Staten Island OutLOUD is proud to collaborate with the Staten Island Women’s Bar Association to present this special event that has appeal to lawyers and laypersons alike –   Dissection of a Scene: Atticus Finch for the Defense.

This event is free & open to the public.

Two outstanding actors, Joseph Daly & Megan Jardine, will recreate the novel’s cross-examination scene, as Atticus Finch defends a young African-American man accused of rape.

Hon. Catherine DiDomenico (NY Supreme Court Justice), Hon. Daniel Master (Chief Assistant District Attorney of Richmond County). and defense attorney Duane Felton, Esq. will dissect the scene and comment on Atticus Finch’s courtroom technique.   Everyone in our audience is invited to comment and share ideas.