Podcasts about Lincoln Center

You're in for a treat! Today on Black Women Amplified, we have an extraordinary guest. Please join me in welcoming the talented Rissi Palmer to the show.Rissi's musical journey has been nothing short of remarkable. With a career spanning over a decade, she has cemented her place in the country music scene, exploring and integrating other genres into her music, creating a unique sound she calls "Southern Soul."She released her self-titled debut album in 2007, which featured chart-topping singles such as "Country Girl," "Hold On To Me," and "No Air." Since then, she has independently released a Christmas single, a children's album called Best Day Ever, an EP titled The Back Porch Sessions, and her most recent album, Revival, which has received critical acclaim for its personal and uplifting message.Throughout her career, Rissi has performed at iconic venues like The White House and Lincoln Center and has shared stages with music legends such as The Eagles and Taylor Swift. She has also been featured in numerous publications like Essence, Huffington Post, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Wall Street Journal, to name a few.In addition to her successful music career, Rissi is also a passionate advocate for diversity in country music. She hosts her own radio show, Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer, which features in-depth conversations with artists of color who have been marginalized in the industry. Rissi has also established the Color Me Country Artist Grant Fund, which provides financial support to new country artists of color.As a special correspondent for CMT's Hot 20 Countdown, Rissi continues to share her insights and experiences with a wider audience.Get ready to be inspired by Rissi's story of resilience and triumph. This is an episode of Black Women Amplified you won't want to miss!For more information on Rissi Palmer, visit RissiPalmerMusic.com.Thank you for listening! Please share with your tribe and leave us a great review. Appreciate it!Please support our Power Partners:Buddha Tea: Rich delicious tea with soothing properties perfect for your self-care experience.www.BuddhaTeas.comPodia is an all-in-one platform that allows you to create a website, sales pages, email marketing, a newsletter, and more for one affordable price. You can even start for free. Try PodiaVital Body is a nutrient company that I have used for over 15 years. They have an incredible product called Vital Fruits and Vegetables that contains amazing ingredients, enzymes, probiotics, and greens with no added sugar. My clients love it as well. www.vitalbody.comThey are offering our tribe 20% off when you use the code: OY2N2GLV5AInterested in Black Women Amplified Gear? Go to www.blackwomenamplifed.com/shop to see our signature merchandise. Thank you for supporting our power partners. They help keep the show going. I appreciate it. Monica Wisdom

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO  Patreon.com/worstofall The lads finally finish the hat as they cover James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's beautiful, pointillist musical: Sunday in the Park With George. Topics include the complexity of the score, the controversial second act, and the challenge of bringing order to the whole through design, composition, balance, light, and harmony. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full back catalogue of premium and bonus episodes, and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall! Media Referenced in this Episode: Sunday in the Park with George by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim. “Eight Lines (Octet)” by Steve Reich. 1979. Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim. Penguin Random House. 2011. “Partitions” by Milton Babbitt, 1957. Putting it Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created "Sunday in the Park with George" by James Lapine. macmillan Publishing. 2021. Reich and Sondheim: In Conversation and Performance. Interview with Frank Rich. Lincoln Center, 2016. Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions by Mark Eden Horowitz. Scarecrow Press, 2010. Also available on Youtube. “UK Omnibus: Sunday in the Park with Stephen.” 1990. “Putting It Together” Variations Barbara Streisand's Version The Academy Awards Version The Xerox Commercial Version The Ethan Allen Version TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Welcome back to The Nerd Expansion! Today's guest is the one and only  Steven Silverstein and his nerd love is Bewitched. It's awesome.Steven Silverstein has music directed and accompanied the famous and near famous on Broadway (Blood Brothers, Swinging on a Star, & the revival of Promises Promises); Off-Broadway, (When Pigs Fly, The Green Heart, & Annie Warbucks); Regional Theatre (Goodspeed Opera House, Papermill Playhouse, & Westport County Playhouse); and Specialty (54 Below & Noel Coward: The Women of His World at Lincoln Center with Dava Ivey, Dee Hoty & Cady Huffman). He has coached and played piano for Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Megan Mullally, Harry Connick Jr., Carole King John Treacy Egan, Neva Small, Tony Award Winner Bill Irwin, and the Tony award winner Annaleigh Ashford.  In addition to his vast experience as a musical director and coach, he has a MAC nomination (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) and has tickled the ivories for cabaret performances at 54 Below, The Duplex, and Don't Tell Mama in NYC. Steven is also a prolific published composer and arranger, having published two children's shows (Enchorage Press) . His work was  performed at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in the Bruno Walter Auditorium.    Steven's song Shoot Me (with Andrew Zachary Cohen)  received an  honorable mention from the City Center's Lobby Project 2022 highlights as composer: His musical Forever and A Day (with bookwriter lyricist Marcus Scott) was part of the Downtown Urban Arts Festival in  June,  His musical Nothin But Love (with Andrew Zachary Cohen) had an informal reading in July,   Six of his songs (with Michael Colby) in OTHER LIVES were presented as part of Winter Rhythms at Urban Stages in December. He shares his love and passion for music and musical theatre with students of all ages at American Music and Dramatic Academy.  He also has been on the faculty of  The Neighborhood Playhouse Junior School, Marymount Manhattan College, PACE University, SUNY  Purchase and NYU. Steven's students have appeared on Broadway in Annie, Newsies, The Producers, 30 Rock among others.  Steven holds a B.A. in Theatre/B.S. in Finance from the University of Bridgeport and an M.A. in Music Education. Upcoming: 2023 Students at Western Connecticut State University will be doing a staged reading of his musical HOW RUDE (written with Phillip George of Forbidden Broadway). Find Steven:YoutubeTwitterFacebookWebsiteTikTokInstragramCheck out Steven's podcast: "Stay Awake with Silverstein" and Making the News SingHosted By: Nick Bowan & Sasha WeissTheme song written by Korrie YamaokaPerformed by Sasha Weiss & Korrie Yamaoka

Welcome back to the Coaching Call podcast.  Get some coffee or your favorite beverage as my guest Matt DiMaio entertains us with his abilities and will have you smarter by the end of the podcast.  Just be warned that this 90-minute episode flies by.   Parents, this one you are going to want to tune into. My guest is Matt DiMaio. School tells you WHAT to learn. Matt DiMaio shows you HOW to learn it. Matt is a Speaker, trainer, author, Guinness World Record certificate holder, and YouTuber, Matt DiMaio is now in his 5th decade of producing attention-getting results for a worldwide audience. Presented with YouTube's Silver Play Button Award for his widely popular channel: “Be Smarter Faster”, Matt teaches you how to learn everything and anything faster and easier than you ever dreamed possible. His training ideas and videos have gained millions of views and have received tens of thousands of exuberant testimonials from his fans around the planet.  He is the author of 3 books on Amazon: “How To Remember People's Names”, “Forgetful No More”, and his latest, “Straight ‘A' Strategies for Successful Online Learning.” Students and business people of every description can testify that their bottom-line results have been positively transformed by applying the powerful “Mental Power Tools” he teaches. Often called ‘The EnterTrainer' for his dynamic and humorous approach, Matt's philosophy is to “Laugh and Learn Your Way to Success”. He has spoken on stage at some of North America's most prestigious venues, including, Caesar's Palace, Bally's, and The Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the Toronto Convention Center, New York's Waldorf Astoria, Nassau Coliseum, and even at The Super Dome. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe and leave a short review on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen?  It takes less than 60 seconds and it really helps. If you enjoyed this episode buy me a cup of coffee, make it a large:  I'm trying to keep this episode free of advertisements and could use your help with the cost of bringing your this fun and entertaining podcast.  Anything you can donate to the cause is greatly appreciated. To donate go to: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/sifuRafael⁠ select friends and family, thanks. Subscribe: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coaching-call/id1546026323⁠ Please leave a star rating and a review here Follow Coaching Call: Facebook: ⁠facebook.com/coachingcall⁠ Instagram: instagram.com/coachingcall Email: maxfitness@optonline.net LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/maxfitness⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@coachingcall⁠ to watch the full interview. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coachingcall/message

This week on the Film at Lincoln Center podcast, we're featuring a special Q&A from our recent screening of S. S. Rajamouli's RRR with composer M.M. Keeravani, who recently won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Naatu Naatu." But first, listen to FLC programmers Maddie Whittle and Tyler Wilson preview our upcoming series, Unspeakable: The Films of Tod Browning, which kicks off tomorrow and runs through March 26. Explore the lineup, including new restorations, 35mm screenings, live musical accompaniment, and get tickets at filmlinc.org/browning. From an original story by V. Vijayendra Prasad, the historical action epic RRR (short for Rise, Roar, Revolt) follows the fictionalized paths of real-life freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao) as they come together in 1920s Delhi to battle the nefarious British Raj for the rescue of a kidnapped girl from Bheem's tribe. Enjoy Academy Award-winning composer M.M. Keeravani's conversation on working on the film's score, his musical influences, and more.

Trombonist, composer, arranger James Burton III has lent his sound to multiple Grammy Award-winning albums and Tony Award-winning Broadway productions. Born in Queens, now a resident of Harlem, Burton III is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music. While earning his Master's Degree and Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School, Burton held both the Morse and Gluck Fellowships and received the Schuman Prize, an award named for Juilliard's founding president and given to one graduating Masters Degree candidate annually. Burton got his professional start playing with many of the great large ensembles; the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars, the Lincoln Center and Vanguard Jazz Orchestras etc. Additionally, the opportunity to perform/record with legends Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Ron Carter and Christian McBride inspired Burton to co-found a 10-piece ensemble called the Uptown Jazz Tentet, which celebrated the release of a second album in late 2020, to much critical acclaim. Currently, Burton's playing and original compositions can be heard alongside band mates Jeremy Pelt and Wayne Escoffery in a dynamic new ensemble; Black Art Jazz Collective. BAJC has released three albums since its inception, the latest two reaching the #1 position on the JazzWeek Charts for  international radio play. In the model of jazz education pioneer Jackie McLean, Burton is an avid educator and has been a full time associate professor at both the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music as well as Director of Jazz Education at New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Burton continues to pass on the legacy of the music via master classes, ensemble coachings and workshops for arts education institutions across the globe. View the show notes and a transcript for this episode at: https://bobreeves.com/blog/james-burton-trombone-interview/ The Trombone Corner Podcast is brought to you by The Brass Ark (brassark.com) and Bob Reeves Brass (bobreeves.com).  

We have a treat for this bonus episode with Yuka Notsuka as she performs as Victoria in the broadway show, Cats playing now at the Kimmel Cultural Campus here in Philadelphia.........................................Yuka Notsuka (Victoria) is from Fukuoka, Japan. Graduate of The Ailey School on a Scholarship program and trained at the Luigi's Jazz Center under Francis J. Roach. Her credits include; National Tour; South Pacific (Liat) and An American in Paris (Ensemble), Walt Disney Production, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Ailey Spirit Gala Concert at Lincoln Center and Universal Studios Japan...............................We talk about her role as Victoria and how similar and different they may be to her real life and more. Also make sure you get tickets to the show happening March 14th-March 19th. In addition check out the national tour to see when and where its coming to you. ..................................As always when I am not podcasting you can find me on my blog at Toitime and on socials as Toitimeblog

This year's Rendezvous with French Cinema festival (March 2-12), Film at Lincoln Center's annual showcase of contemporary French filmmaking, was something of a Louis Garrel convention—the French actor and director appeared in three movies in the lineup. He directed and stars in The Innocent, a comedy inspired by his own life, about a young man whose mother marries a heist robber newly released from prison. He also stars along with his sisters, Esther and Lena Garrel, in their father Philippe Garrel's Silver Bear–winning new feature, The Plough, a melancholic, understated drama about a family of puppeteers grappling with the decline of their patriarch and their traditions. And Louis appears as the theater director Patrice Chéreau in Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's Forever Young, about a group of young initiates at Les Amandiers, a famous acting school in Paris. Last week, FC Co-Deputy Editor called up Louis on Zoom—while he was in the middle of a shoot for a film about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince—for a conversation about the autobiographical inspirations of all three films, the differences between his and his father's directing styles, their collaboration with the legendary screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, and more.

Rachid Hami just showed his second feature POUR LA FRANCE (For My Country) at Film at Lincoln Center's Rendezvous with French Cinema. He explains in this episode why the title changes from 'For France' to 'For My Country' in the US. Toward the end is the most striking point to me about assimilation vs. integration. We speak of our upbringings, his being French by way of Algeria (as portrayed in the film) and mine being a New York Jew. The story told is about his real life family, done as a character study less than an indictment of the system. We talk a lot about that point. It's a movie, about people, with style...not an article or textbook in visual form. There's a significant divide between France and US in how we treat topics like this in the arts. I hope we take notes. Sufganiyot thanks to Orwashers. https://www.filmlinc.org/films/for-my-country/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/teawithsg/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/teawithsg/support

This week on the Film at Lincoln Center podcast, we're featuring a special Q&A from the 60th New York Film Festival with Drylongso director Cauleen Smith, moderated by Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Jacqueline Stewart. Cauleen Smith's 1998 feature debut, a landmark in American independent cinema, follows Pica (Toby Smith), a woman in a photography class in Oakland, as she begins photographing the young Black men of her neighborhood, having witnessed so many of them fall victim to senseless murder and fearing the possibility of their becoming extinct altogether. This project serves as a point of departure for Smith to explore Pica's relationship with her family, as well as her relationship with a friend (April Barnett) who becomes the victim of an enigmatic and elusive serial killer lurking in the background. An enduringly rich work of DIY filmmaking, Drylongso remains a resonant and visionary examination of violence (and its reverberations), friendship, and gender. An NYFF60 Revivals selection. The NYFF60 Revivals presentation of Drylongso was sponsored by Turner Classic Movies.  The new 4K restoration of Drylongso opens next Friday, March 17, in our theaters with a filmmaker Q&A with Smith on opening night. On the occasion of the theatrical release of the NYFF60 selection, we are also showing two Shorts Programs of Smith's short films on Friday, March 17, with an intro from Smith, and Sunday, March 19. Get tickets to Drylongso and both shorts programs and receive an automatic discount package of $20 for the general public and $15 for FLC Members. Explore showtimes and get tickets at filmlinc.org/drylongso

My guest for this episode is Shilpa Ananth. Shilpa is an Indian vocalist, songwriter, and performing artist based between the US and the UAE.  Her sound fuses the dreamy landscapes of South India with Soul, Jazz, and Electronic influences. Shilpa brings together 3 of the oldest Indian languages - Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi - with English, creating a sound that transcends borders and cultures. After graduating with honors from Berklee College of Music, Shilpa released her debut EP "Indian Soul." Shilpa has recorded and performed with Grammy award-winning composers A.R.Rahman, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Whalen, Chandrika Tandon, and Javier Limon's Original Quartet. She has also toured extensively with Serbian female vocal group ROSA, The Berklee Indian Ensemble, Women of the World, and the Bollywood Boulevard musical production, performing at several prestigious venues around the US, such as Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theatre, NJPAC, Wolf Trap, and The John F. Kennedy Center, to name a few. Shilpa is a featured vocalist on the recently Grammy-nominated album "ONA," by Thana Alexa. She was a recipient of the award for Best Independent Artist at the Blue Rhymez Entertainment Honorary Awards 2020. Shilpa is also a recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre 2020, and the 2020 Music Grantee for the Café Royal Cultural Foundation, New York. Shilpa is currently completing her second EP of original music titled "Reproduction," set to release in fall 2023. Her latest single "The Search" will be featured on the forthcoming EP and can be heard on popular music platforms. In this conversation, we talk about Shilpa's pandemic-driven departure from New York, overcoming struggles to find success, teaching at The Berklee College of Music in Abu Dhabi, how a new song emerged from inspiration in hard times, finding calm, getting mileage out of our music releases, and best advice for singers. Please enjoy my conversation with Shilpa Ananth. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support. This episode was powered by Music Marketing Method, a program for independent musicians looking to grow their music career. Music Marketing Method was created by my good friend Lynz Crichton. I'm in the program and I'm learning tons! I'm growing my fan base and learning about many ways that I'll be earning money in the new year. It's also helping me grow this podcast. How cool is that? To lean more and find out if Music Marketing Method can help your music career, visit UnstarvingMusician.com/MusicMarketing. This episode of the was powered by Liner Notes. Learn from the hundreds of musicians and industry pros I've spoken with for the Unstarving Musician on topics such as marketing, songwriting, touring, sync licensing and much more. Sign up for Liner Notes. Liner Notes is an email newsletter from yours truly, in which I share some of the best knowledge gems garnered from the many conversations featured on the Unstarving Musician. You'll also be privy to the latest podcast episodes and Liner Notes subscriber exclusives. Sign up at UnstarvingMusician.com. It's free and you can unsubscribe at anytime. Mentions and Related Episodes ShilpaAnanth.com Shilpa Ananth feature in Rolling Stone India The Search, by Shilpa Ananth (video) Shilpa's 3 Easy vocal warm-ups post on Instagram The Search, by Shilpa Ananth  Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Music Marketing Method – The program that helps musicians find fans, grow an audience and make consistent income Bandzoogle – The all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website for your music Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Pardon the Interruption (Disclosure)  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! Visit UnstarvingMusician.com to sign up for Liner Notes to learn what I'm learning from the best indie musicians and music industry professionals. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on Twitter  and  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube  

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YjHUFmPh-k&t=69s 2020, 2018 and 2017 BEST VOCAL DUO/GROUP - MANHATTAN ASSOC. OF CABARETS & CLUBS (MAC) and 2020 BROADWAY WORLD CABARET AWARD FOR BEST GROUP SHOW! Those Girls is a vocal harmony project that promises a great time filled with great music! Eve, Rachel, Karen & Wendy joined forces in 2016 to form this contemporary, four-member women's vocal group that performs an eclectic mix of music from a wide range of styles - from pop to jazz, the Beatles to U2, country to rock, and everything in between.  EVE EATON Eve made a return to cabaret after a nine year hiatus with 2015's Back to Billy: A Love Affair 30 Years in the Making, for which she was nominated for a Broadway World Award in the Best Show, Female category (directed by Lennie Watts, musical direction by Steven Ray Watkins).  RACHEL HANSER Rachel has performed in cabaret rooms, bars and clubs all over NYC, as a featured performer and as a back-up singer. Rachel's first featured cabaret show was called 5'3” and Under, in which she played “Under”.  KAREN MACK Karen is a ten-time MAC Award winner for vocal performance and songwriting, as well as for her vocal harmony work for 12+ years with talented singer/songwriter Michael Holland as half of the pro vocal duo that brought the acclaimed & ridiculous retropop series “Gashole!” to the world.  WENDY RUSSELL A native New Yorker, Wendy has performed as a jazz & cabaret vocalist at clubs in and around NYC including the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Hudson Theater, Don't Tell Mama, The Duplex, and The Metropolitan Room. Working with Lennie Watts (director) and Steven Ray Watkins (piano).

You've heard a lot of stories about the old days in the deep woods of northern Maine, when river drivers cut the trees and moved the logs into the rivers, down the great waterways or through the dense frozen forest. In Maine's early days as a state, most of it was a frontier, far removed from the rest of civilization and only connected with a thin line of rail or a dark ribbon of water weaving its way from the overwhelming forest to the towns and cities near the coast. When winter came and the ground froze solid, that's when lumbermen ventured deep into the woods, so deep that the closest connection with the world was literally days away.  Working in the deep woods meant isolation for long periods of time, away from the comforts and the safety of civilization, especially healthcare. The men had to rely on each other and themselves in times of trial and uncertainty and this they did. There are songs and stories detailing the toils and times of these men of the woods, but perhaps none so strange and unique to Maine as the tales of the Charming Man. It's quite likely you've never heard a tale like it. The Charming Man? He's not what you think. It seems that any time a group of people needs a healer, one seems to arise. It's a hallmark of our species and perhaps the reasons we've made it thus far. When famed anthropologist Margaret Meade was asked when she thought civilization began, she didn't choose the advent of agriculture over hunting and gathering as her moment when humans became something more than merely animals. She pointed to a fifteen thousand year old healed femur bone, saying that “​​in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, you cannot drink or hunt for food. Wounded in this way, you are meat for your predators. No creature survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. You are eaten first.” When one of us is in need, we feel a compulsion to help. It's deep in our bones. There's a story told in a 1902 edition of Forest and Stream magazine that details the strange adventure of a friend of author Holman Day, a famous chronicler of the Maine wild lands at the turn of the last century. He details an exploit of a friend of his known only to the reader as “The Doctor.” In this tale, this doctor is hunting in the region of the woods above Upper Lobster Lake east of the Churchill, far from the cities near the coast. The interior of Maine in 1902 was a wild and lonely place. What follows are Holman's words from the 1902 article, speaking as the doctor whose story it is. “Now, you know I have been in the woods every season for ten years, and I never was lost up to that time. I did get lost, though, that day. I don't have the least idea how it happened, but all at once I found myself wandering through the woods with no clear idea where I was going nor why, for I had told the guide that I would meet him at the head of the lake for a snack. “Well, I traveled around quite a while. I'll tell you just how I felt -it was as though something all at once had set me into a brown study and then when I came out of it I looked around to find that some sprite had moved the sun and had skeow-wowed the scenery around in some way that I failed to understand. Never had that happen to me in the woods before! In what I am going to relate, I do not want to be considered too credulous, but that mystification of the morning made the later events of that day more impressive. “After a time I climbed the side of a hill and took a look around to see if I could locate any landmark. Off to the east of south by my compass I spied a column of smoke wavering up over the trees. I was so turned around that I couldn't tell whether the lake lay in that direction or not, but I scrambled down the hill and plowed away in that hope. “The smoke must have been five miles away, and it took me more than an hour to cover the distance. But I finally came into a clearing. There was a lumber camp there. No one was in sight outside, but in the free and easy way that prevails in the woods, I walked across the clearing, stamped off the snow in the dingle and walked into the camp. I never got such a surprise in all of my life. Half a dozen of the crew were in the camp. They all jumped up and rushed toward me. One of them yelled, “Be you the doctor?” “Well, I'm a doctor,” I said. “Don't that beat all tophet, fellows?” cried the man; ‘he's the doctor. And he's right on the dot, too. We've been looking for ye,' he stuttered, turning to me and fairly trembling in excitement. I commenced to get some interested myself. “You folks appear to have been looking for me,” I suggested. “You bet we have” the cook replied, twisting his bare arms in his apron. “He said you'd get here at four o'clock,” he added, pointing to a little nickel alarm clock that hung alongside a bunk. It was then a few minutes past the hour. “No one has sent for me,” said I, “and I didn't know where I was coming. What do you people mean by saying that I was expected? I've been lost in the woods.” “That's jest what he said,” shouted several men in chorus, jostling together in their excitement. “Who said so?” I demanded, with a bit of a temper, for it suddenly occurred to me that the men were ‘joshing' me for their amusement. “The charming man,” they answered. They were so earnest that I realized that they were not joshing, though for the life of me I couldn't understand what it all meant. “He's right there in the bunk,” explained the cook. “This charming man you were speaking of?” I asked. I had never heard of a charming man before and I wanted to see the curiosity. “No, the man that got hurt,” said one of the crew. “The charming man went away.” “It was dusky in the camp and one of the men carried a lantern to a bunk in the corner. There lay a man with his foot swathed in a torn blanket and an old coat. ‘He chopped himself on the ankle,” one of the men explained. While they held the lantern I unwrapped the bandages, my professional instincts suppressing, for a time, the questions I wanted to pump at the men. It was a bad case. The ax had partly severed the ankle at the joint, and the wound, treated by such rude methods as were at hand in the camp, was past the point where it could be healed. ‘He hurt it three or four days ago,' said one of the crew. ‘We done what we could for him, but I guess it wasn't very much.' “That foot must come off,” I told them. “That's jest what he said,” was the immediate chorus. ‘The charming man said so,' added the cook, noticing my astonishment at their excitement over my simple statement. “I assure you I was getting mighty curious by this time, but the doctor in me was on top. I started one of the men off to the sporting camp for my case of instruments that I always take into the woods with me. Then I sat down to wait and listen to the story the men had to tell me.” “The camp was on Matthew's Upper Lobster. The injured man was one of the swampers, and when he had hacked his ankle the men had put on a tourniquet in the best style they could and lugged him to the camp. Word was sent by tote-team for a doctor, but the nearest one was a hundred miles away. On the morning of that day, when I arrived at the camp, the stranger had appeared. The men told me that he was about sixty-five years of age, wore a tight-fitting suit of ribbed wool like a union undergarment, and over that a huge blanket coat. On his head was a knitted cap with the peak hanging down his back. The garb was suited well enough to wood's life, but it was all a dead, deep black, and indicated that our mysterious friend was a bit ‘staggy.' “The men went on to tell me that the stranger walked into the camp and up to the bunk where the injured man lay and announced in deep tones that he had some to heal. But after he had looked the victim over he said that he could only charm away the inflammation. “The foot must be cut off,” he declared, “and I do not stain my hands in human blood. My mission on earth is to alleviate suffering. I can summon here the man who will do the work, and I will remove the pain.” “The man then drew some unknown substance from his pocket and threw it upon the coals that he raked forward on the camp hearth. A dense, black smoke went rolling up the short chimney. The men in the camp described this operation as ‘burning medicine,' a resource that is occasionally adopted by the Penbscot Indians in the woods when they seek for good fortune in hunting or in recovering lost articles. While the stuff smoldered and smoked the man jabbered in low tones. Then he suddenly broke out, ‘He is coming this way - he is crossing a brook, he is climbing a hill - now he sees the smoke - he will come to this place - he is the surgeon who will do this work.” “The crew then explained that at this point, one of them had the assurance to brace up to the stranger and ask him what he was trying to do. The charming man explained with great dignity that through his spell head caused a hunter - a city doctor - who was then five miles from that place, to lose his way first and then espy the smoke rolling up from the camp hearth. ‘He will be here in just one hour by that clock,' he stated, ‘He will send for his tools and will cut off that man's leg. Tell him for me that there will be no pain from the operation and no blood to speak of, neither will there be inflammation following. I have attended to all that. I will return in two weeks for my pay. If it doesn't come about as I have said, you need give me ‘nother. Remember, the doctor will come in an hour.” “And sure enough I did, and under those circumstances, you see, my lively reception was not astonishing.” “While I was waiting for the instruments I examined the patient with great interest. I determined that he was a hypnotic trance. I tested him with the thermometer, took his pulse and listened to his respiration. They were not far from normal, but the man was entirely insensible. “He remained in that condition through the operation, which I performed without anesthetics after I had made tests and had found that was apparently insensible to pain. But little blood followed the knife. The manner in which the limb had been bound by the rude tourniquet was partly responsible for the slight bleeding, but I am ready to testify as a surgeon that the bleeding was apparently somewhat controlled by the patient's condition psychically as well as physically. “But what was more interesting still was the fact that when the man came out of his stupor the next day he felt no pain in the leg, and when I visited him and dressed his stump during the next week he said that he hadn't suffered even a twinge. “The case interested me mightily, and if it had not been for the professional engagements that took me back to the city, I would have waited to see and talk with that mysterious man of the woods.” The word ‘charming' is defined generally as pleasant or attractive. A less common meaning is to control or achieve as if by magic. That's the word we're concerned with in this tale. There was a time, before the advent of modern medical knowledge, when shamen and wise women were the traditional healers of our species, all over the world. They had an understanding of plants and effective treatments, but they also knew of another kind of healing that modern science only recognizes as something like ‘the placebo effect.' They had the power of belief and perhaps a good idea of the power of hypnotic suggestion. Call it the power of positive thinking if you like. If you're of a religious bent, call it the power of prayer. Health care, like the need for food and shelter, is one of the primary rungs on the ladder of Bloom's taxonomy. In the case of the lumbermen of the North, they had a rudimentary understanding of setting bones and soothing rheumatism and healing small cuts, but when more skill than this was required, they were on their own. Unless…sometimes, a person just shows up, just in the nick of time, when needed. What is remarkable about the Charming Man in this tale is that he is a stranger wandering an unpopulated land, wandering like a wizard and only appearing when needed. He appears like Odin of the old Norse myths, a bearded man from the wilderness, solitary, ready to assist and even to call for help using supernatural means when his own intervention would not be enough to save a person's life. Even stranger, he explains that he will return for payment later - and inevitably, he never does. So what, exactly, is a Charming Man? In the areas of northern Maine reaching into Quebec and any area with the French-Canadian tradition, he is a traditional faith healer whose origins go further back into the native culture of the region. Wandering loners, they have the ability, it seems, to sense when they are needed, arrive, diagnose, and treat illnesses. They are able to use prayer and charms to stop pain and treat inflammation. Leaning down to the afflicted, they would speak their ‘charm' into his ear only, so that no one else could hear, and then they would treat their patients, calming them, taking away their pain with nothing more than a few well-spoken words and some herbs. For people living far from modern medicine, these people, who could be male or female, were the only doctors available and they were glad they had such help. Their name in French is “traiteur' or in English, ‘treater'.They used plants, energy, and spiritual practices to affect their healing services and in the case of the lumbermen at the camp in Holman's tale, they also knew enough about modern medicine to know when the work was beyond their ability to heal. Sometimes these traiteurs would appear at a lumber camp and would offer prescriptive medicine. Everyone was fine at the moment, but in the middle of winter when he was too far away to affect any assistance, he had a kind of insurance plan he offered. The name of each man on the logging crew would be given to the Charming Man. He would prepare small sticks of what he called ‘medicine wood', leaving these with the man in charge of the camp. If any man needed help during the winter, that man's stick was to be burned and certain words were spoken, previously confided to the camp boss -these were sacrosanct words, never to be repeated to anyone. If this ritual was carried out to the word and letter, the Charming Man would hear it, no matter where he was on Earth. Then, he would treat the afflicted person mentally, from a distance. If you were in need of medical attention in the midst of the Maine woods, you had no doctor nearby. All you had was the Charming Man and the faith you had in him. So where did these people come from and where have they gone? The Charming Man from our story spoke of his mission, “ to alleviate suffering.” Interestingly, he also states that he never stains his hands with human blood. In that, he indicates a pureness, perhaps a holiness, that gives us a glimpse into his nature. In her book, The Kennebec Wilderness Awakens, Mary Calvert writes: The “power” was believed to be hereditary, with the “spell” being handed down from mother to son or father to daughter, never to the same sex. It could only be given down once, and could not be written down. Many old woodsmen believed implicitly in this power and would cite case after case around the evening campfire.” The spell Calvert alludes to is a passage from the Bible, or at least that's what one Charming Man revealed. Vaughn Knight, of Lincoln Center, Maine, had no one to give his charm to - no daughter to which he might pass down the spell and being of sufficient age and being interviewed by folklorists, revealed that his spell was a passage from Ezekiel 16, verse 6: “And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto (put in the name), when thou wast in thy blood, Live (put in the name); yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.” Traiteurs are people of faith whose power may lay within their patient's capacity to believe in them. A man with a serious injury would likely not be healed by a traiteur. Instead, he might be ‘treated', that is, be made stable and comfortable with hypnotic suggestion or other means until a surgeon could make his long journey inland to the isolated camps. To be fair, men died every winter in the camps. Logging is heavy, dangerous work and in those days, a serious injury often meant death. Charming men must have been few and far between because they did not always arrive when needed. Many lumbermen perished in the far camps without any help from anyone. Today, we use genetics to create vaccines and to battle emerging diseases as well as older ones that are reemerging as our enemies. We build hospitals and have national and international health organizations to monitor our collective well-being and serve us through the use of well-researched science. It is interesting to note that in the northeast of the United States, a place where modern medicine truly began to thrive in places like the great colleges and universities, there was a need for traditional faith healing no less than a hundred years ago, bringers of hope in the dark and distant forest, arriving when needed, serving their patients and then leaving to melt back into the forest again. SOURCES Michaud, Al, Fortean Forest, “Doctors in Woods,” pp. 31-44. Antlerian Press, 2020. Day, Holman, “The Charming Man of the Maine Woods,” Forest and Stream, October, 1902. https://archive.org/stream/Foreststreamv58/Foreststreamv58_djvu.txt Calvert, Mary, The Kennebec Wilderness Awakens, Twin City Printery, 1986. Dana, David. “A Vernacular Healing System: Reinventing the Circle with Cadien Treaters”. From “Science and Religion: Global Perspectives,” June 408, 2005, Philadelphia, PA.

Asher Laub is an in-demand violin soloist whose expertise in trans-genre improvisation has led him to performances at high profile venues like Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob Javitz Center and across four continents. In this episode, you'll hear about Asher's journey into music, how he chose the path of independent artist, the parallels between being an independent artist and entrepreneur, and how he is growing his brand. Asher has been playing the violin since the age of 2 and by age 13 had already performed with the Buffalo philharmonic. He shares how his path began very conventionally attending college and supporting himself with money earned playing music and how a health crisis shifted his focus back to music.Asher talks about his early music career, working with booking agents to get work, and his decision to become an independent artist. He discusses the challenges of wearing many hats as a musician and business-builder and his story illustrates the many parallels between being an independent artist and an entrepreneur.Asher gives us insight into the different ways independent artists monetize their businesses, how he has diversified his revenue streams, and how he has been able to build a brand that attracts and truly resonates with his fans. Finally, Asher tells us how he knew it was time to hire a team, how he approaches marketing and using data to drive his strategy, his trans-genre approach to his music, and how he prioritizes time with his family and works it around his business.Skip to topic:4:51 - The complicated shift going from musician to entrepreneur7:55 - How independent artists are monetizing their businesses as entrepreneurs10:03 - Building a brand as a musician and the value of fans as brand ambassadors15:09 - The aspect of Asher's brand that he thinks attracts fans19:46 - How Asher has diversified his income streams21:54 - How Asher works in different types of partnerships23:54 - When Asher knew he needed to hire a team27:50 - Using data and analytics to drive marketing strategy30:50 - Determining the right production frequency to keep fans engaged31:33 - Taking a trans-genre approach to music34:40 - How Asher prioritizes his family life and works his professional life around that Find Asher at:Website: https://www.asherlaub.com & https://www.fiddlersdreammusic.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/asherofficialmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asherlaubFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/asherlaubmusicTwitter: https://twitter.com/asherlaubVisit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/Follow me on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | TwitterSupport the show

Welcome to Heilman & Haver - Episode 72.  We hope you enjoy the show! Please join the conversation - email us with thoughts and ideas and connect with the show on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and at heilmanandhaver.com.   IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Patricia Ward Kelly Patricia is an accomplished writer, scholar, freelance journalist, and the widow and official biographer of Gene Kelly.  She and Kelly met at the Smithsonian in 1985, when he was the host/narrator for a television special for which she was a writer.  Soon after, he invited her to California to write his memoirs, a job for which she recorded his words nearly every day for over ten years. They were together until his death in 1996. Currently, Patricia serves as Trustee of The Gene Kelly Image Trust and is the President and Creative Director of The Gene Kelly Legacy, Inc.  She lives in Los Angeles where she is completing a book about her late husband. As part of this work, she is preserving and cataloging The Gene Kelly Archives — an extensive collections of letters, manuscripts, photographs, scripts, interviews, essays, poems, holograph notes, and memorabilia that will eventually be the basis of additional publications and, ultimately, the core of an innovative, virtual Gene Kelly “experience.” Mrs. Kelly has recorded commentary for the DVDs of An American in Paris, The Pirate, Words and Music, Xanadu, and Hello, Dolly!, and is frequently called upon to introduce Gene's films in theaters and at festivals, including two years at the TCM Classic Film Festival. She has been interviewed extensively on TCM and has represented her husband's legacy on numerous PBS specials and pledge drives and on the popular television shows So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars.  She regularly hosts scores of dancers and other artists from around the world at her home, sharing insights about the life and work of her late husband through an intimate tour of The Gene Kelly Archives. Patricia has appeared in An Evening with Mrs. Gene Kelly in several cities around the world and her one-woman tribute — Gene Kelly: The Legacy, An Evening with Patricia Ward Kelly — sold out two nights at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on the occasion of Kelly's centenary in 2012 and has been touring across the United States and abroad the past four years, with sold-out performances at Lincoln Center, The Pasadena Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, the Sedona Film Festival, and many, many more. In two weeks - Friday, March 17th through Sunday, March 19th - Patricia will be in Seattle to host another one of a kind event, this time at Benaroya Hall - Gene Kelly: A Life in Music.  Gene Kelly dancing on the big screen accompanied live by the Seattle Symphony!  Patricia joined us now from her home Los Angeles.   Connect with Patricia and keep up on the latest Gene Kelly news: On Instagram On Facebook On Twitter On Linkedin

This week on the Film at Lincoln Center podcastm we're featuring a Q&A from the 60th New York Film Festival with Stonewalling (opens March 10!) filmmakers Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, moderated by FLC Senior Director of Programming Florence Almozini and interpreted by Vincent Cheng. Before that, listen to a special programmer's preview of the 28th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema from FLC Assistant Programmer Maddie Whittle. Our annual festival celebrating the best works in contemporary French film is now taking place through March 12 with filmmaker Q&As, Free Talks, and more. Explore the lineup and get tickets at filmlinc.org/rdvFor more than a decade, Beijing-based wife-and-husband team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka have been making films about the lives of young people in China—in many cases “left-behind children,” or those whose parents are forced to leave their families to find jobs in cities. Expanding their project, their gripping, humane yet uncompromising latest, shot with a precise formal economy by Otsuka (who also serves as cinematographer), focuses on a year in the life of Lynn, a flight-attendant-in-training whose plans to finish college are thrown into doubt when she discovers she's pregnant. Not wanting an abortion (a decision she hides from her callow, absent boyfriend, away on modeling and party hosting gigs), she hopes to give the child away after carrying it to term, while staying afloat amidst a series of dead-end jobs. As incarnated by the filmmakers' quietly potent recurring star Yao Honggui, Lynn—whose story continues after being the center of the filmmakers' acclaimed The Foolish Bird (2017)—is both a fully rounded character and the vessel for an urgent critique of a modern-day social structure that has few options for women in need of care. Stonewalling opens on March 10 in our theaters, with in-person Q&As with directors  Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka during opening weekend, and special screenings of Egg and Stone and The Foolish Bird. Get showtimes and tickets at filmlinc.org/stonewalling

Kinetic Light, a disability art collective, performed a duet called Under Momentum at Lincoln Center in February. The performance shows the joys of continuous motion, the allure of speed, and the beautiful futility of resisting gravity and is performed on a series of ramps, and the artists interchange between wheelchair and floor movement. We speak with Alice Sheppard, founder of Kinetic Light, who performed in Under Momentum, about the performance, the joys of moving the body, and access in the arts. In this audio story you'll also hear audio descriptions from Under Momentum that describe the visual experience of the performance for those who are blind or have low vision. These are not just an add-on to the show, but a full and complete way of experiencing the performance. Audimance, Kinetic Light's signature approach to audio description was created by artist/engineer Laurel Lawson.You'll also hear from Miranda Hoffner, the associate director of accessibility at Lincoln Center. Under Momentum is an experience curated by disabled performers for a disabled audience and Kinetic Light worked with Lincoln Center to provide several access points to the performance including deaf and hearing ASL interpreters, captioning for hard of hearing or deaf folks, haptic wires that people could touch to feel vibrations during the performance, and a quiet room for people who might become overstimulated. There was also a “choose what you pay model” for tickets, because cost is also a barrier to accessing art. Image Descriptions:Alice is a multiracial Black woman with short curly hair. Laurel is a white person with cropped teal hair. They both wear shimmery metallic costumes. In the photo Alice Sheppard kneels at the base of the ramp, with her back and wheels facing the camera. She reaches her arms high in a V. Laurel Lawson peers at her from behind the ramp.   

Kinetic Light, a disability art collective, performed a duet called Under Momentum at Lincoln Center in February. The performance shows the joys of continuous motion, the allure of speed, and the beautiful futility of resisting gravity and is performed on a series of ramps, and the artists interchange between wheelchair and floor movement. We speak with Alice Sheppard, founder of Kinetic Light, who performed in Under Momentum, about the performance, the joys of moving the body, and access in the arts. In this audio story you'll also hear audio descriptions from Under Momentum that describe the visual experience of the performance for those who are blind or have low vision. These are not just an add-on to the show, but a full and complete way of experiencing the performance. Audimance, Kinetic Light's signature approach to audio description was created by artist/engineer Laurel Lawson.You'll also hear from Miranda Hoffner, the associate director of accessibility at Lincoln Center. Under Momentum is an experience curated by disabled performers for a disabled audience and Kinetic Light worked with Lincoln Center to provide several access points to the performance including deaf and hearing ASL interpreters, captioning for hard of hearing or deaf folks, haptic wires that people could touch to feel vibrations during the performance, and a quiet room for people who might become overstimulated. There was also a “choose what you pay model” for tickets, because cost is also a barrier to accessing art. Image Descriptions:Alice is a multiracial Black woman with short curly hair. Laurel is a white person with cropped teal hair. They both wear shimmery metallic costumes. In the photo Alice Sheppard kneels at the base of the ramp, with her back and wheels facing the camera. She reaches her arms high in a V. Laurel Lawson peers at her from behind the ramp.   

We speak to the winners of the Public Song Project and hear to their submissions. Kat Lewis discusses her summer-fun rewrite of “(I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream.” Alice Lee explains her modern take on the archetypal country hit, “The Prisoners Song.” And Chloe and Lily Holgate, who perform as sybil, share the inspiration for their musical setting of the Edna St Vincent Millay poem, “Afternoon on a Hill.” Then we take a tour through highlights from the just-launched listener-generated WNYC Public Songbook, and hear more creative submissions. Public Song judges Paul Cavalconte (host of New Standards), Shanta Thake (chief artistic officer of Lincoln Center), and musician DJ Rekha join us to reflect on the project and some favorite tunes.   NOTE: This segment has been edited to remove an instance of a song that was mistakenly played twice on the air.

Jonah Nigh joined The New School in September 2021 as Senior Vice President of Development and Alumni Engagement. In this role, Jonah leads The New School's strategic fundraising, institutional advancement, alumni engagement, corporate, and foundation relations. He came to The New School from the Jewish Museum, where he served as the Director of Major Gifts, Senior Director of Individual Giving, and Acting Deputy Director of Development before being appointed Chief Development Officer. Other development roles included positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Columbia University, Opera America, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.A classically trained singer, he earned his undergraduate degree at Lawrence University and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. Performance credits include roles at the Aspen Music Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Dorian Opera Theatre, Opera Boston, and on TV and film. In 2021, he and his husband were semi-finalists on NBC/Peacock's Baking It, a new baking competition produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by SNL alums Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg.A frequent public speaker, he has served in a variety of roles for NBC, Peacock TV, ABC, WNYC, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Pride March, Asian Leadership Collective, Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Aspen Leadership Group, Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, Development Debrief and DonorScape podcasts, Con Edison Musicians' Residency Program, Columbia Business School, Florida State University, Lawrence University, Museum of the City of New York, The Jewish Museum, The New School, Phi Sigma Pi National Convention, among other organizations. In 2019, he was appointed to Bronx Community Board Four by former Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and served on its executive and economic development committees. He currently serves on the boards of The Association of Fundraising Professionals (NYC Chapter) and Grapevine.When he's not fundraising, he's usually baking or running. He and his husband currently reside in the Bronx.Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter: @nighjonahFacebook: @Jonah Nigh

This week on the Film at Lincoln Center podcast, we're featuring a conversation with Davy Chou and Park Ji-Min, discussing Return to Seoul at the 60th New York Film Festival with Artistic Director Dennis Lim. Freddie (Park Ji-Min), a young French woman, finds herself spontaneously tracking down the South Korean birth parents she has never met while on vacation in Seoul. From this seemingly simple premise, Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou spins an unpredictable, careering narrative that takes place over the course of several years, always staying close on the roving heels of its impetuous protagonist, who moves to her own turbulent rhythms (as does the galvanizing Park, a singular new screen presence). Chou elegantly creates probing psychological portraiture from a character whose feelings of unbelonging have kept her at an emotional distance from nearly everyone in her life; it's an enormously moving film made with verve, sensitivity, and boundless energy. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

Host Luisa Lyons chats with choreographer, director, producer, and digital theatre artist Brandon Powers. Brandon shares his journey to becoming a choreographer/director, along with his fascinating insights into the integration of VR and live theatre, Musical Theatre Factory's XR initiative, TikTok, and the future of filmed theatre. Brandon Powers is a creative director + choreographer who creates experiences across physical and virtual space. His work focuses on capturing liveness in the digital, building interdisciplinary communities, and shifting culture towards a more embodied future. His key projects include VR saga Queerskins: ARK (Venice International Film Festival), Frankenstein AI (Sundance Film Festival), and Duet (New York Live Arts). On TikTok, Brandon has grown a community of over 70,000 inviting audiences into the process of creating theatre and dance. He founded Constellation, an immersive strategy and production studio building engaged digital communities for theatrical properties. Brandon is a Creative Producer at Musical Theatre Factory, where he leads MTFxR, a program supporting XR musical theatre experiences. He has spoken on the intersection of arts and technology at the TCG National Conference, Verizon's 5G Lab, Lincoln Center and more.Show Links: Learn more about Brandon: https://www.brandon-powers.com/ Musical Theatre Factory MTFxR: https://mtf.nyc/mtfxr/ 5th Wall Forum: https://www.5thwallforum.com/5wf-about Constellation: constellationtheatrical.com Medium Article: https://brandonpowers.medium.com/the-future-of-musical-theatre-is-on-tiktok-8ecb7ef660a1 Follow Brandon on social media: Instagram Tiktok TwitterYouTubeSupport the showFilmed Live Musicals is where musicals come home. Use the searchable database to find musicals filmed on stage to watch from the comfort of your living room! Visit www.filmedlivemusicals.com to learn more. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to the podcast and site content, no matter how much you pledge. Become a Patron today! Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons, an Australian actor, writer, and musician. Luisa holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Ep.141 features Jahkori Dopwell Hall, an African American Visual Artist, Illustrator, Poet, Entrepreneur and Teacher whose artwork highlights black life, beauty, history, heritage, and culture. With instruction from the Ringling College of Art and Design, Jahkori was able to master his own unique artistic style, while becoming a professional in the field of fine arts. Through his themes of black identity and the black experience, Jahkori's artwork takes viewers on a journey through the African diaspora, with the purpose of raising awareness. While living in New York, his artwork was exhibited at Christie's Young Visions Exhibit and Lincoln Center's Abstract Art Exhibit. After moving to Florida, Jahkori's work has been featured and sold in numerous private art collections, including Art Center Sarasota, as well as the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center. In 2019, Jahkori completed an abstract mural commission titled “Stripes of the Seven Diamonds.” During his early career as a Volunteer Teaching Artist, Jahkori realized the importance of black representation in the arts. Working with students from minority backgrounds, including underprivileged and underrepresented at-risk youth has prompted Jahkori to become an Elementary Art Teacher, encouraging the next generation of black artists. In 2020, Jahkori compiled his art portfolio into a series known as the Black Empowerment Collection - a collection of empowering art pieces created with different mediums. Many illustrations in this collection were included as part of his “Black History Year Calendar" business project which combines his visual art talents with his skills in graphic design and poetry. Photo Credit Leonard's Photography Artist https://www.jahkoridopwellhall.org/ Artist Calendar Black History Year 2023 - Jahkori Dopwell Hall The Glaucoma Foundation https://glaucomafoundation.org/ TGF Art Challenge https://glaucomafoundation.org/art-challenge-2022/ Shark Tank Winner ‘Emerging CEOs' https://smygbm.net/emerging-ceos/ Art Works Anywhere https://artworksanywhere.org/meet-our-team/ SRQ Magazine https://www.srqmagazine.com/srq-daily/2019-04-24/10555_Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Southside-Elementary?fbclid=IwAR0GXdaJ9VMWw53fZxCXPXjm5Ut25e4BucK9rWTuKwGQGHw0KfC1X86Lkhs Sarasota SCENE Magazine http://www.scenesarasota.com/magazine/halliday-financial-announces-the-opening-of-new-southern-headquarters/?fbclid=IwAR0tfFPgZsM5GvEMD1HdUA20ZK1l37Hk3CVUJ5zgQXNMH8N2aZJ6su9ht08

Listen to Asher Laub share how he keeps a balanced lifestyle. Asher is a musician that plays the electric violin. He has performed at places such as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the Lincoln Center. Tune in now to learn more about Asher! Hosted By: Josh Baker Guest(s): Asher Laub You can follow Asher on Instagram, Facebook, or Subscribe to his YouTube Channel! You can also reach out to Asher and learn more about him at either found.asherlaub.com/home or asherlaub.com! Find the Intelligent Conversations on Social Media: Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, or LinkedIn Subscribe to Intelligent Conversations on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Audible, or Amazon Music

“Hey, you don't remember me but you caught me stealing CDs at Tower Records once” is the kind of remark a singer remembers after stepping off stage following an energetic, raucous performance; and that's exactly what happened to Ryan Bland. Growing up in Beaumont, Texas Ryan Bland dreamt of life in the big city. As an African American kid into New Wave music and Prince, he didn't fit into the all black high school he attended where he acquired a unique music related nickname. Reading books and magazine articles about people like Lou Reed, it was his ambition to move to the Big Apple. He started by moving to Long Island, where his mother had moved. Working for Tower Records Carle Place opened up a door to Ryan's eventual move to Manhattan. For more than 6 years Ryan Bland was a witness to the internal and external activity of Tower Records #1 grossing US store, Lincoln Center NYC. While Ryan spends some time talking about busting customers and staff alike, it was working along side musicians he admired that got Ryan excited. As a performing artist himself (Ryan is the lead singer of the Brooklyn based hardcore/metal band ACHE) he enjoyed working with and conversing with artists that his fellow Loss Prevention employees knew nothing about. His conversation with Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction is one for the ages. Join us for a great conversation this week with Ryan Bland. 

Deborah Grace Winer is a theatrical writer, creator of theatrical revues and concerts, and she's a leading expert on the American Songbook. Her new collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center--the Songbook Sundays Series at Dizzy's Club--has been an instant sold out music destination. Deborah's previous collaborations include Feinstein's/54 Below, Birdland, and a decade as Artistic Director of the 92Y's Lyrics & Lyricists™ concert series, steering the venerable series back to audience and critical acclaim.  She collaborates with top-tier artists from Broadway and the music world and works with leading institutions.  Among Deborah's various books, On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields, was named by the Wall Street Journal one of the five best books on American Songwriters. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times and numerous other publications.  And her plays have been produced off-Broadway and regionally.  Deborah's been featured on PBS' American Masters, as well as NPR's Fresh Air and “Morning Edition.”  Deborah's newest project, the audio adventure podcast series Flash Force: Middle Aged Women Superheroes Save Democracy, with an all-star Broadway cast, launches in 2023.

The celebrated pianist offers not only beauty but context and insight, like this observation: “If you go to any concert and you hear a Dvořák piece, look for the pigeon and the train; they're always in there.” Pigeons and trains, presented with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

This week on the Film at Lincoln Center podcast, we're featuring a special Everything Everywhere All at Once Q&A from our recent series ‘Verse Jumping with Daniels with directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and producer Jonathan Wang, moderated by FLC Programmer Tyler Wilson. In their second feature-film collaboration, Daniels evoke everyone from Wong Kar Wai, Harmony Korine, and Stephen Chow and everything from video games, YouTube algorithms, wire fu, Japanese anime, late 1990s Hollywood nihilism, and more: Golden Globe® Winner Michelle Yeoh delivers a career-defining performance as Evelyn Wang, a first-generation Chinese-American living above her laundromat business with her aging father (James Hong), her teenage daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and her kind but painfully naive husband (Golden Globe® Winner Ke Huy Quan). Amid an IRS audit (spearheaded by a nearly unrecognizable Jamie Lee Curtis) that reveals the cracks of her family and livelihood, Evelyn plunges into a multiversal war of “'verse jumpers” that puts the fate of every universe in her hands… This hardly describes the gag-a-minute, gleefully maximalist feature, whose high-wire achievement here is precisely in balancing the unwieldy tone promised by its title with a cinematically legible sense of infinity, all while issuing a profoundly emotional warning to our overstimulated present. An A24 release.

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/jcxoW-Qs5xM?feature=share Angel J Fajardo Angel's one true joy lies in the chaotic but collaborative process of filmmaking. You can find him behind the camera designing the shot or calling the shots as an AD or Producer. His directorial debut, Ward, won the Audience Choice for the 2022 Austin Under the Stars Film Festival. Ward will also be screening at the 2023 Garden State Film Festival. Description of the film: Upcoming Film: On his 18th birthday, Peter is forced to leave the safety of his foster home and reconcile with the past. EDWARD B. KESSEL: Composer / Producer / Director Multi-award-winning Composer/Producer/Director, Edward B. Kessel, founded Sound Imagination | Imagination Video, a music, video and audio production company in 1986. Ed was inducted into the NJ Advertising Hall of Fame in 2016 and has been producing music, commercials and entertainment projects for over 30 years. He has composed, orchestrated and produced music for Broadway, movies, TV, songs for major artists, jingles and commercial scores.  Konstantin Soukhovetski: 2019 Innovation Award Winner from Music Academy Of The West Konstantin has a singular artistic voice that communicates with and engages audiences the world over. Konstantin's creative output continuously innovates, frequently involving multidisciplinary projects with dance and film. In 2020 Konstantin joined the adjunct faculty of his alma mater The Juilliard School, where he received his BM, MM, and AD with Jerome Lowenthal. In 2022 Konstantin was named Director of Pedagogy and Narrative Musicianship at Bronx School For Music. This Season Konstantin's performances include return to NYC's Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.

“When Russ found out I was on the union side? He literally came up to me and went for my throat”Randi Morton Swindel was working at Columbus & Bay when that store took a union vote in the mid 1970's and the union lost. And despite being opposite Russ Solomon, Randi Morton Swindel proved to be one of Russ' all time favorite employees. This week on “2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records” we talk with Randi, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland in a house filled with Classical Music. The Top 40 radio of KYA and KFRC got a hold of her and if that wasn't enough Beatlemania invaded her school and clique of friends causing Randi to cry (she wasn't a screamer) at the sight of The Beatles. In one five week period bridging 1965-1966 Randi caught The Rolling Stones at The San Jose Civic Auditorium and then Bob Dylan and The Hawks going electric at the San Francisco Masonic. James Brown, Otis Redding and a host of other concerts led to her eventually finding a job at Tower Records at Columbus & Bay. Randi was the second woman hired to work the cash register and the sales floor. From 1972-1984 Randi worked her way up between stints at Columbus & Bay, Mountain View, Fresno and then back to Mountain View. Along the way she met her husband Jim Swindel who held a music marketing job in Northern California. When Jim scored a Sales Management position in NYC, Randi went to be the Manager of the original Lincoln Center location and then to the Village Store while also holding the position of Northeast Regional Manager overseeing the opening of South Street Philadelphia, Washington DC and the Boston store on Newbury Street. Randi tells us about amazing in stores with REM, Violent Femmes, Tina Turner and a nightmare visit with a prickly Lou Reed, phone calls from Bud Martin about $75 plumbing paid outs, navigating NYC in the 80's, overseeing the opening of iconic Tower stores on the East Coast, the decision to step away from her career at Tower, her son Joey's Godfather Russ Solomon and a whole host of other subjects. 

Our guest in this episode is violist Matthew Lipman, one of his generation's great talents! After sufficient fan-girling, we got to ask Matt all of our burning questions about life in the most high-profile of freelancing careers: as a soloist and professional chamber musician. If there's anything universal about a career in music, it's how we stitch our identities into how we perceive success. We talk with Matt about what success means to him, as well as the important yet restrictive practices that are preventing us from exposing our art to a broader audience, and maybe even a little astrology - yes, we may be getting a little ‘woo-woo' today…Enjoy getting to know Matt, a beautiful musician with an important voice in the future of ‘classical' music!**If you enjoyed this episode, please consider rating and writing a quick review for our podcast! 10% discount on The ArcRest! Just mention the code “VIOLACENTRIC” at checkout!www.thearcrest.comWe have a Patreon site! Support us and get perks and bonus content!www.patreon.com/violacentricMentioned in this episode:Matthew Lipman's official site: https://matthewlipman.com/Matthew at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/about/artists/strings/matthew-lipman/************************Our website: www.violacentric.com, for merch, joining our email list, and contacting us with stories and feedback!Episode edited by: Emily MacMahon and Liz O'Hara StahrViolaCentric Theme by: JP Wogaman, www.wogamusic.comOur Sponsors:Aria Lights: www.arialights.comThe Arc Rest: www.thearcrest.comPotter Violins: www.potterviolins.comSupport the show

Operatic baritone Will Liverman starred in the Met Opera's first ever opera production by a Black composer, and this fall he'll star in its second. In Chicago on Sunday, he wrapped performances of the opera, "The Factotum," which he co-wrote. This Wednesday, he returns to Lincoln Center for his solo recital debut, performing songs from his Grammy-nominated album, Dreams of a New Day. He previews the concert.

SEGMENT‌ ‌1 with Bruce Jackson,‌ ‌‌starting‌ ‌at‌ ‌0:00‌:‌ ‌ Have you ever sat back and been surprised about where you ended up professionally in life when you consider where you started? Our next guest seems to be on a journey similar to many of us. Bruce Jackson shares his journey from growing up in government housing across from the famous Lincoln Center to working as general counsel at Microsoft.SEGMENT‌ ‌2 with ‌Michael Wagner,‌ ‌‌starting‌ ‌at 33:00‌:‌ When we broke ground for my new home in Scottsdale at the beginning of the pandemic in February 2020, I remember calling my pool company asking for a discount since I thought mine would be the last pool they would install for a few years…boy was I wrong! Michael Wagner is here to share the current state of the pool services industry.Sponsored by Truly Financial.Visit Barry's Blog for complete show notes.

A native of eastern Pennsylvania, JD Walter's past, present, and future has always embodied music. From church Boy choirs at the age of six to the American Boy choir school in Princeton to the University of North Texas on a vocal jazz scholarship, Walter has become a pioneer of improvisation and electronic innovations in the world of jazz. His recording career spans 20 years and his purist progressive approach to jazz music has been recognized worldwide. After extended studies in Amsterdam with Jazz vocal Icon, Deborah Brown, Walter returned to the U.S. and embedded himself in the New York Jazz scene. It was in New York, surrounded by visionaries of jazz, where he began to organically develop his liberated, vibrant style that turned him from straight-ahead to progressive jazz singing. Walter's recordings include, "Dressed in a Song", “Sirens in the C-House,” “Clear Day,” “Dedicated to You,” “2Bass, a Face and a Little Skin,” “Live in Portugal,” “Live at the 55 Bar,” “One Step Away,” and Guest appearances on over 100 recordings. The latest album, released on February 7, 2020, testifies to his personal progression as an evolving artisan and provides an intimate, inventive collection of standards and originals. “Dressed in a Song,” produced by Walter and Grammy-winning producer and A&R executive Al Pryor, features piano and vocal duets and trios with veterans and up-and-comers alike, including Jim Ridl, Orrin Evans, Jean-Michel Pilc, Marc Cary, Taylor Eigsti, Julius Rodriguez, Ben Wolfe, Obed Calvaire, and Becca Stevens. Over the decades, Walter has performed as a featured artist at numerous American jazz clubs and festivals in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Central America as well as over 80 tours in Russia. He remains a regular in the New York music scene, and has headlined at Dizzy's Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, The Blue Note, and The Jazz Gallery, among other venues. He has shared the stage with legendary artists, ranging from Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, Tom Harrell, Eddie Gomez, Bob Dorough, Nicholas Payton, Ben Monder, Sean Jones, Jean-Michel Pilc, Bill Evans, Mark Murphy, Greg Hutchinson, Ari Hoenig, Randy Brecker, Tim Warfield, Jim Ridl, Orrin Evans, Seamus Blake, Igor Butman, Nasheet Waits, Craig Handy, Boris Kozlov, Robin Eubanks, Eric Revis, Billy Drummond, Christian McBride, Adam Nussbaum. Walter currently resides in New York and teaches privately and abroad at The Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Holland, The Jazz and Music School in St. Petersburg, and the Music Wave School in Moscow. In this episode, JD Walter shares his background, education, and musical journey. If you enjoyed this episode please make sure to subscribe, follow, rate, and/or review this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, ect. Connect with us on all social media platforms and at www.improvexchange.com

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host Miko Lee talks about Theatre & Memory with Bay Area native artists: composer Byron Au Yong and playwright Lauren Yee. They provide behind the scenes news about their upcoming productions at ACT and Berkeley Rep. More info on our guests: Byron Au Yong, composer The Headlands, ACT   Lauren Yee, playwright Cambodian Rock Band, Berkeley Rep   Transcript: Theatre and Memory or Why Art Matters [00:00:00] Miko Lee: Good evening and welcome to APEX Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight we're talking about theater and memory or why art matters. So many artists grapple with this concept of memory and how each of us has a different story to share. And tonight we get to hear from two bay area locals, a playwright, and a composer, each share a bit about their creative process and why art matters to them. I have the pleasure of speaking with composer, Byron Au Yong who had been creating music for the Headlands, which opens this weekend at act. And with playwright Lauren Yee who's musical Cambodian rock band comes back home to Berkeley rep at the end of the month. First off. Let's take a listen to one of Byron Al Yong's compositions called know your rights. This is part of the trilogy of the Activists Songbook. This multi-lingual rap, give steps to know what to do when ice officers come to your door. song That was know your rights performed by Jason Chu with lyrics by Aaron Jeffries and composed by my guest, Byron Au Yong. Welcome, Byron Au Yong to Apex Express. We're so happy to hear from you. [00:04:11] Byron Au Yong: Thanks, Miko. It's so great to be here. [00:04:13] Miko Lee: I wanna talk to you about a couple of things. First and foremost, you have the Headlands that is opening up at ACT really soon. Tell me about who your people are and where you come from. [00:04:27] Byron Au Yong: Sure. So my grandparents, both maternal and paternal, left China in the late thirties and they both immigrated to the Philippines. And so both my parents were born to Philippines in different areas. And so I come from a family of refugees who then settled into Philippines and my parents were not the first in their family. They were actually both the fourth and they left and immigrated to the United States when the United States opened up immigration in post 1965. So they were part of that wave. And then I was born in Pittsburgh. They, they were actually introduced here in Seattle. And I was born in Pittsburgh because my dad was in school there. And then they moved back to Seattle. So I'm from Seattle and in 2016 I moved to San Francisco. [00:05:17] Miko Lee: Thank you. So you are a composer. Have you always played music and have you always been attuned to audio? Tell me about how you got started as a composer. [00:05:28] Byron Au Yong: Sure. As a kid my parents divorced when I was age seven and I was an only child up until age 16. My mom worked. In the evenings. And my dad wasn't in the household and so I had a lot of time to myself and I would sing a lot to myself. And then my next door neighbor was a piano teacher, and so I started to play the piano at age nine, and then at age 11 I started to write stuff down. And yeah, so I've been doing music for a bit. [00:05:59] Miko Lee: So music has always been a part of your life, essentially. It's been your playmate since you were young. [00:06:04] Byron Au Yong: Yes, absolutely [00:06:05] Miko Lee: Love that. So tell us about the Headlands that's gonna be opening at ACT pretty soon. [00:06:11] Byron Au Yong: Yeah so The Headlands is a play by Christopher Chen, who you may know is playwright, who is born and raised and continues to live in San Francisco. And it's his love letter to San Francisco. It's a San Francisco noir play. It's a whodunit play. It's a play about a main character who's trying to figure out who he is after the death of his dad. Which causes him to wonder who he is and where he is from. I'm doing original music for the show, this is gonna be an American Conservatory Theater, and Pam McKinnon, who's the artistic director, will be stage directing this production as well. I actually met Chris Chen in 2013 when I had a show called Stuck Elevator that was at ACT. And I've been really fascinated with his work as a playwright for a while, and so I was thrilled when ACT invited me to join the creative team to work on music. Miko Lee: Oh, fun. Okay. I wanna talk to you about Stuck Elevator next, but first let's stick with the headlines.This is a play that's about memory and storytelling. I'm wondering if there is a story that has framed your creative process. Byron Au Yong: Yeah. Thinking about this show as a memory play, and, memory as something, we go back in our memories to try and figure stuff out, which is very much what this play is. And also to claim and to. figure out if something from our memory was recalled maybe in completely. And so the main character is, piecing together fragments of his memory to figure out who he is in the present. And considering this I actually went back to music. I composed when I was still a teenager. I actually dropped outta school and was working a lot. I think I realized early on that I was indeed, I wanted to dedicate myself to being an artist and was very concerned about how I would make a living as an artist in the United States. And so I thought I'll figure out how to make money away from the music. And so I had a lot of jobs and I was trying to write music, but, I was in a sad place, and so I never finished anything. I have a bunch of fragments from this time. But on Memorial Day I woke up and, it was sunny in Seattle and so I said, I'm gonna finish a piece of music today. And that became part of a project in mine where every Memorial Day I finish a piece of music and it's a solo piano piece that I finish. And so, going back in my personal history, I found one of these Memorial Day pieces and thought, oh, this actually works. Because it's a bit awkward and it doesn't resolve, and I remember who I was back then, but it's also me piecing together things and so I used that as the foundation for the music, for The Headlands, which is a different thing. If you didn't know that was my source material, that's in some ways irrelevant. But that's my personal connection in thinking about music for this. And of course I've also done a lot of research on film noir. A lot of noir films were set in San Francisco. And and the music is awesome, amazing of this genre. And, it's mysterious it is a certain urban Americana music. And so I include those elements as well. [00:09:36] Miko Lee: Thank you. That's so interesting that you have a Memorial Day ritual to create a piece of music. I'm wondering if, aside from the Headlands, have you used the Memorial Day Music in other pieces you've created? [00:09:48] Byron Au Yong: No this is the first time. [00:09:51] Miko Lee: Wow. Yeah. That's great. [00:09:53] Byron Au Yong: I think Miko is because, it's a private thing for me. I think the other thing too is as you mentioned, music was my friend growing up. The piano was. Definitely one of my best friends. And so solo piano pieces for me are, it's where you can have an audience of one. And one of the things that helped me, when I was not in school was. Playing through a lot of different other solo piano pieces. And so part of these Memorial Day pieces too are that they're meant to be simple enough that they could be sight read. And so if, if there's a musician who you know, is in a similar state of, oh, I'm not able to really do anything, but I want to be with music. I can sight read through, these different Memorial Day pieces. [00:10:38] Miko Lee: And do you have them set in a specific part of your house or where, how, where do you keep your Memorial Day projects and when do you open them up to look at them? [00:10:48] Byron Au Yong: Oh yeah. They're handwritten in a folder. None of the things so special. [00:10:54] Miko Lee: What was it that inspired you to go back and look at them for the headlands? [00:10:58] Byron Au Yong: Oh, you know what it is there are, be, because I know you, you also create stuff too in your memory of your catalog.I'm wondering if you have. If you have works that, that you remember that you made and then tho those works may remind you of a certain mood you were in or a certain room or and so I think they're musical things from certain or, things I was experimenting with for these Memorial Day. Said, I'm like, oh, I remember this. Let me go back to the folder where I collect this stuff every year and look through it. And I think that parallels actually the headlands and what the main character is doing because he recalls, and what's so cool about the production is we go into the same scene, but there's like a clue that's been revealed. And so we as an audience get to revisit the scene again. And there's a different interpretation of what was happening in the scene. And so what might have been like a scene between Henry's parents, Lena and George, which he thought, oh, this is how it was when I was a kid, when I was 10 years old. Thinking about it, remembering it, but now with this new information, this is how I'm gonna interpret the scene. And so I think similarly with, music from my past, these Memorial Day pieces, I'm like, oh, this is what I was interested in working on. But now as a older composer, I'm like, ah, and I can do this with this material. [00:12:26] Miko Lee: I love that. And I also really appreciate that this play about memory you pulled from your Memorial Day pieces, that it goes with this whole flow of just re-envisioning things with your own frame and based on where you're at in any given time. [00:12:42] Byron Au Yong: Totally. [00:12:43] Miko Lee: I know that the show was created 2020, is that right? Yes. Is that when, first? Yeah, Byron Au Yong: I think it's right before the pandemic. Miko Lee: Yeah. And you've had several different directors, and now in a way you both are coming home to San Francisco and artistic director, Pam McKinnon is directing it. I wonder if you have thoughts about some of the difference approaches that these directors have brought to the process. [00:13:06] Byron Au Yong: Oh, yeah. And, miko, this is the first time I'm working on the headlands. And so when it was at Lincoln Center, there was a different creative team. [00:13:12] Miko Lee: Oh, so the music, you're just creating the music for this version of the show. [00:13:16] Byron Au Yong: Yes, correct. Wow. And it is a new production because that Lincoln Center was in a stage called LCT 3, which is a smaller venue. Whereas this is gonna be in a Toni Rembe theater, which is, on Geary. It's a 1100 seat theater. And the set is quite fabulous and large . And what's also great is, aside from Johnny, all the cast is local. And like it will have the feel of a San Francisco production because many of us live here, have lived here and know these places that are referenced in the show. [00:13:51] Miko Lee: Thanks for that clarification. So that's really different to go from a small house at Lincoln Center to the big house at a c t Yes. With local folks with, your local music. That brings a very different approach to it. I'm excited to see it. That sounds really interesting. And now I wanna go back to talk about Stuck Elevator, which I was so delighted to learn about. Which was your first piece That was at ACT what, back in 2013? So tell our audience first about where Stuck Elevator came from and then tell what it's about. [00:14:23] Byron Au Yong: Sure. So stuck elevator. So I was living in New York in 2005 and there were some there were some images of like photos in the newspaper, initially it was local news because it was a Chinese delivery man who was missing. And most of the delivery people at the time, they carry cash, they won't go to the police. And there, there had been a string of muggings and then one was actually beaten to death. And so it was local news that this guy was missing. And then a few days later, and in New York Times, there was a big article because he was found in an elevator in the Bronx and he had been trapped in his elevator which had become stuck. And he was trapped for 81 hours, which that's like over three days. And so it made international news. And then when I read the article and learned more about him, there were many parallels like where he was from in China, which is Fujan Province, which is where my grandparents left that he was paying a debt to human smugglers to be in the United States. And different things that I thought, wow, if my grandparents hadn't left I wonder if, I would be the one who was, paying to be smuggled here rather than paying for grad school. And so I became quite fascinated with them. And then also, realized at the time, in 2005, this is like YouTube was just starting, and so all like the Asian American YouTube stars, they weren't as prominent in the news. And, BTS wasn't around then. So for me to see an Asian male. In the US media there was always this feeling of oh why is this Asian male in the news? And then realized, oh, it's actually part of a larger story about being trapped in America about family obligation, about labor, about fear of, in his specific case because he's an undocumented immigrant, fear of deportation. So there were many issues that, that I thought were broader than the specific story. And so I thought, this would be a great opera slash musical. So that's what it became at [00:16:23] Miko Lee: you, you basically read a story and said, whoa, what is this? I feel this is so wild. And then created it into an opera. Yes. Also, it just resonated with me so much as a person who has been trapped in elevators, in broken elevators six different times, . Oh my goodness. Yes. I'm like, wow. And his story, that many hours, that has to be like a record. Byron Au Yong: Right? Nobody else has been trapped that long. Yeah. It's a record. Miko Lee: So you created this piece, it premiered at ACT? Yes. Did you ever connect with the guy that was stuck in the elevator? [00:16:59] Byron Au Yong: No. So the New York Times did something which is actually not cool. They they revealed his immigration status and that at the time I'm not sure if it's still the case,but at the time, you're not allowed to reveal people's immigration status. Especially, in such a public way. And so what was cool was that the AALEDF, which is the Asian American Legal Education and Defense Fund, they the volunteer attorneys there step forward to represent Ming Kuang Chen and his case and ensure that he had legal representation so he would not be deported. The thing is, he was suffering from PTSD and there was also another case at the time it was a different un undocumented immigrant case that AALEDF was representing that had a bit more visibility and so he actually didn't want to be so much into public eye, and so he went back into hiding. And so while I didn't meet him specifically, I met his translator. I met other people at AALEDF met with other people who were related to the stories that he was a part of. So for example, used to be an organization, which I think they've changed their name, but they were the Fujanese Restaurant Workers Association. Most of the undocumented immigrants who worked in restaurants at the time are from Fujan Province. Also, Asian Pacific American Studies at New York University. Is a mix o f people who were working in restaurants as well as people, scholars who were studying this issue. [00:18:46] Miko Lee: Can you describe a little bit about Stuck Elevator for folks that haven't seen it? Sure. How did you conceive of this piece, that song? [00:18:53] Byron Au Yong: Yeah so it's a thru sung piece about a guy who's trapped in America. He's a Chinese food delivery man, and he's, delivering food in the Bronx. And what I think is You know what I didn't realize when I started it. And then I realized working on it was the thing about being stuck in the elevator is, especially for so long, is that you and I don't know if this is your case, Miko it's so fascinating to hear you've been trapped six different times. There's the initial shock and initial oh my gosh, I have to get out. And then there's this. Maybe not resignation but there's this, okay. Okay. I'm gonna be here so now what? Now what I'm going to do and the time actually, especially for someone who works so much delivering food and sending money back home to his wife and son in China and his family is that he actually is not working, right? And so he has time to consider what his life has been like in New York for the past, the two years he's been there. And to consider the choices he's made as well as to remember his family who are back in China. And part of this too is you're not awake the entire time. Sometimes you go to sleep, and so in his sleep he dreams. He has hallucinations. He has nightmares. And this is where the music theater opera really starts to confront and navigate through the various issues of being trapped in America. [00:20:22] Miko Lee: Any chance this will come into production, somewhere? [00:20:26] Byron Au Yong: Yeah, hopefully, we were just at Nashville Opera last week, two weeks ago. [00:20:30] Miko Lee: Oh, fun. [00:20:31] Byron Au Yong: so Nashville Opera. So the lead Julius Ahn who was in ACT's production is an opera singer. And and he had told the artistic director of Nashville Opera about this project years ago. And John Hoomes, who's the artistic director there had remembered it. Last year John Hoomes reached out to me and said, you know, I think it's the time for to be an operatic premiere of Stuck Elevator. And so we had an amazing run there. [00:20:58] Miko Lee: Great. Wow. I look forward to seeing that too somewhere soon. Yes. I also wanted to chat with you about this last week, a lot of things have been happening in our A P I community with these mass shootings that have been just so painful. Yes. And I know that you worked on a piece that was called The Activist Songbook. Are you, can you talk a little bit about that process and the Know Your Rights project? [00:21:23] Byron Au Yong: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm gonna back up because so Activist Song Book is actually the third in a trilogy of which Stuck Elevator is the first, and related to the recent tragedies that have happened in Half Moon Bay and also in Monterey Park. The second in the trilogy is it's called the Ones. It was originally called Trigger, and it also has the name Belonging. And I can go through why it has so many different names, but the first in the trilogy was Stuck Elevator, and it was prompted by me again, seeing an Asian male in the US media. So the second actually all three are from seeing Asian males in the US media. And the second one was an incident that happened in 2007 where a creative writing major shot 49 people killing 32, and then himself at Virginia Tech. And and when this happened I realized, oh shoot Stuck elevator's part of a trilogy. I have to figure out how to do this show called Trigger or what was called Trigger. And then realized of the different layers in a trilogy. Yes. There's this initial thing about Asian men in the US media, but then there's this other thing about ways out of oppression. And so with Stuck Elevator, the way out of oppression is through the main character's imagination, right? His dreams, his what ifs, right? The possibilities and the different choices he can make with the second one, what me and the creative team realized is that, the way out of oppression is that the creative writing major who you may remember was a Korean American he was so isolated at Virginia Tech and the tragedy of him being able to purchase firearms and then kill so many people, including himself in working on it, I was like, I need to understand, but it's not this story I necessarily want to put on stage. And so what it became is it became a story, and this is also the national conversation changed around mass violence in America. The conversation became less about the perpetrator and more about the victims. And so it became a choral work for community performers. So rather than a music theater opera, like Stuck Elevator, it's a music theater forum with local singers. And this was actually performed at Virginia Tech during the 10 year memorial of the tragedy. And this one I did eight site visits to Virginia Tech and met with people including the chief of police of Blacksburg. First responder to director of threat assessment to family members whose children were lost. A child of, teachers were also killed that day to counselors who were there to Nikki Giovanni, who was one of the faculty members. So yeah so many people. But this one, the second one, the way out of oppression is from isolation into community, into belonging. And Virginia Tech Administration said we could not call the work trigger. And so the work there was called (Be)longing with the be in parentheses. And now we've done a new revision called The Ones partially influenced by the writer, one of his teachers was June Jordan who was at UC Berkeley. And she has a phrase, we are the ones we've been waiting for. And so the ones which is a 2019 revision, the show, what it does is Act three youth takeover, right? It's about coming of age and an age of guns, and the youth have become activists because they have no choice because they are being shot in places of learning, and so Parkland in Chicago and other places have been influential in this work. And then the third in the trilogy is Activist Songbook. And for this one we went back to an earlier asian male who was in the US media, and that was Vincent Chin who you may know was murdered 40 years ago. And so activist song book is to counteract hate and energize movements. And it's a collection of different songs that is even further away from musical theater opera production in that the rally component of the songs can be taught within 10 minutes to a group of people outdoors to be used right away. And that one, the way out of repression is through organizing. [00:25:49] Miko Lee: Well, Byron Au Young, thank you so much for sharing with us about all the different projects you've been working on. We'll put a link in the show notes to the headlands that folks can see at a c t. Tell our audience how else they can find out more about you and your life as a composer and more about your work. [00:26:05] Byron Au Yong: Sure. I have a website. It's my name.com or b y r o n a u y o n g.com. [00:26:12] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for spending so much time with me. [00:26:14] Byron Au Yong: Of course. [00:26:15] Miko Lee: You are tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA an 89.3 K P F B in Berkeley and online@kpfa.org. We're going to hear one more piece by composer, Byron Al young called This is the Beginning, which was prompted by Lilly and Vincent chin and inspired by Helen Zia and other organizers. song That was, This is the Beginning by Byron Au Yong and Aaron Jeffrey's. Featuring Christine Toi Johnson on voice and Tobias Wong on voice and guitar. This is a beginning is prompted by organizing in response to the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit. This hate crime was a turning point for Asian American solidarity in the fight for federal civil rights. Lily chin Vincent's mom refused to let her son's death be invisible. Next up, I have the chance to speak with playwright Lauren Yee who's musical Cambodian rock band. Returns to Berkeley rep where it first got its workshop and it will be there from February 25th through April 2nd. And here's a teaser from Cambodian rock band by Lauren Yee. Take a listen to seek CLO. song Miko Lee: Welcome Lauren Yee to Apex express. [00:34:35] Lauren Yee: Thank you so much, Miko. [00:34:37] Miko Lee: We're so happy to have you a local Bay Area person. Award-winning playwright. Coming back to town at Berkeley Rep with your show, Cambodian Rock Band. Yay. Tell us about the show. [00:34:51] Lauren Yee: Yes so Cambodian Rock Band. Is actually a piece that has some of its like earliest development roots in the Bay Area and also like specifically at Berkeley Rep. Getting to bring the show to Berkeley rep really feels like some sort of poetic justice. In addition to the fact, that it's like my old stomping grounds. . Essentially Cambodian rock Band started in 2015, or at least the writing of it. It actually started, if I'm being honest much earlier than that. I think it was about 2010 2011. I was down in San Diego in grad school and one of my friends was just like dying to go see this band play at a music festival. She was like, I saw this band play. They're amazing. You should totally come. And I was like, sure. And I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but it's like, going somewhere, hearing a band, and even before you know anything about them or their story, you just fall in love. You fall like head over heels in love and you say, oh my God who are these people? And I wanna know everything about them. And that band was Dengue Fever. Which is amazing. You fell in love with the band first. Yep. Before the play. Yes. And it was the band Dengue Fever which is an LA band. And their front woman Choni Mall is Cambodian American and she leads this sound that I think started in covers of Cambodian oldies from that golden age of rock for them, and has over time morphed into Dengue Fever's own original sound. Like we're nowadays, they're coming out with an album soon, their own original songs. But I fell in love with Dengue Fever and I was like, oh, okay, who are these people inspired by? And I just went down that rabbit hole of learning about this whole musical history that I never knew about. My own background is Chinese American. I'm not Cambodian American. And so a lot of kids who grew up in the public school system, I did not get basically any education about Cambodian history and America's role in seeding the elements that led to the Khmer Rouge's takeover the country, and the ensuing genocide. [00:37:12] Miko Lee: So you first fell in love with the band and then you went down an artist rabbit hole. We love those artist rabbit holes. Yes. And then what was your inspiration for the play itself? The musical? [00:37:22] Lauren Yee: Yeah so I fell in love with the music and I was like, there is something here because you had all these musicians in Cambodia who like, when 1975 hit and the communists took over the country there was just a time when like the country was a hostile place for artists where artists were specifically targeted among other groups. And so much of Cambodia's musicians and its musical history, was snuffed out, and I was like, there is a story here, that I find deeply compelling. And for a long time I didn't know how to tell that story because there's just so much in it. And then came 2015 where two things happened. One was that I was commissioned by a theater in Orange County called South Coast Rep, and they invited me to come down to their theater and just do research in the community for two weeks on anything you want. So I was like, I wanna look at malls, I wanna look at the video game culture down there, all kinds of things. And one of the things that I was interested in and just bubbled to the surface was the Cambodian American community, which is not in Orange County proper, but in, situated largely in Long Beach, right next door. And it just so happened that while I was there, There were just a lot of Cambodian American music related events that were going on. So the second annual Cambodian Music Festival, the Cambodia Town Fundraiser, Dengue Fever, was playing a gig in Long Beach. Like all these things were happening, that intersected me, with the Kamai or Cambodian community in Long Beach. And the other thing that happened coming out of that trip is that I started beginning to write the seeds of the play. And I did a very early workshop of it up at Seattle Rap. And I'm the sort of playwright. probably like writes and brings in collaborators like actors and a director sooner than a lot of other people. Most people probably wait until they have a first draft that they're comfortable with, whereas I'm like, I have 20 pages and I think if I go up and get some collaborators, I think I can generate the rest of it. So I went up to Seattle with kind of my, 20 or 30 pages and we brought in some actors. And that workshop had an actor named Joe No in it, and I knew Joe from previous work I'd done in Seattle. But during our first rehearsal when we were just like chatting he said to me like, this is my story. And I was like, oh, it's a story that calls out to me too. Thank you. And he was like no. You don't understand. Like, So my parents were born in Battambang Cambodia. They were survivors of the Khmer Rouge. I feel deeply connected to this material. And that conversation sparked. a very long relationship, between me and Joe and this play. That I, I think of him as like the soul, of this play. He became just like an integral part. And in the South coast rep production and in subsequent productions he's kind of been like our lead. He is Chum, and it's a role that I think is like perfectly suited for who he is as a human being and what his like essence is. And also he plays electric guitar which I think influenced things a lot because initially it was a play about music, right? It wasn't a musical, it was just people like talking about a music scene that they loved. And as I went along and found like the perfect people for these roles it was like, Joe plays electric guitar. It would be crazy not to have him try to play a little electric guitar in the show. And that kind of began that, the evolution of this play into a piece where music is not only talked about, but is an integral part of the show. You know that it's become a show that has a live band. The actors play the instruments. They play about a dozen songs. And it's a mix of Dengue, half Dengue Fever songs, half mostly Cambodian oldies. It's kind of been an incredible journey and I could not have imagined what that journey would be, it's hard to replicate. [00:41:53] Miko Lee: I love that. So has Joe been in every production you've done of the show so far? [00:41:57] Lauren Yee: So he hasn't been able to be in everyone. There were two productions happening at the same time, and so he could only be in one place at one time. But I bet you he would've tried to be in two places at once. But he's basically been in almost every production. And the production that he's in currently running at the Alley Theater in Houston is is like the production, the original production directed by Chay Yew. [00:42:24] Miko Lee: Wow. And was it difficult to cast all actors that were also musicians? [00:42:30] Lauren Yee: In some ways there there's I think if you were starting from scratch and you like open your window and you're like, where could I find some actors? I think it would be tough. But I just kept running into kind of like crazy happenstance where I would find a person and I wasn't even thinking about them musically. And they'd be like, yeah, like I've played bass, for 15 years. and I could kind of do drums, right? That what was remarkable is that there were all these Asian American actors who were like known as actors. But then once you like, dig down into their biographies, you're like, Hey, I see like you've actually played drums for X number of years, or, Hey, I see that you play like guitar and bass. Miko Lee: Tell me more about that. Lauren Yee: So it's almost like finding all these stealth musicians and like helping them dust the instruments off and being like, Hey, come back here. Fun. And so it's just been, it's just been like a joy. [00:43:27] Miko Lee: Oh, that's so great. I know the play is about music and also about memory, and I'm wondering if there's a story that has framed your creative process that stands out to you. [00:43:39] Lauren Yee: I don't know if it's one specific memory, but I find that just a lot of my stories I think they deal with family. I think they deal with parents and their grown children trying to reconnect with each other, trying to overcome family secrets and generational struggles. I would say I have a great relationship with my father. But I think, in every parent and child relationship, one thing that I'm fascinated by are these attempts to get to know someone, like especially your own parent, even when you know them well, and especially when you know them well. That kind of is able to penetrate that barrier that sometimes you hit in generations, right? That there's a wall that your parents put up. Or that there's this impossibility of knowing who your parents were before you had them because they had a whole life. And you only know this like tiny bit of it. And I think I'm just like fascinated by that. I'm fascinated by the impact of time. I'm fascinated by extraordinary circumstances and the ordinary people who lived through those times. And I think for a large part, even though Cambodian rock band features a family whose lived experience is different from my own. I think there's a lot of my own relationship with my father that I put into that relationship. This desire to know your parent better, this desire to know them even as they're trying to protect you. So yeah. [00:45:06] Miko Lee: What do your parents think about your work? [00:45:10] Lauren Yee: I think my parents are incredibly supportive, but like different in the way that one might think because my parents aren't arts people they of course like enjoy a story or enjoy a show, but they're not people who are like, I have a subscription to this theater, or I'm gonna go to this museum opening. and so their intersection with the arts, I feel like has been out of a sense of like love for me. Their ways of supporting me early on when like I was interested in theater and trying to figure out a way to go about it, like in high school when I was trying to like, put on a show with my friends and they were like in the back folding the programs or like building, the door to the set. And hauling away, all the furniture, so we could bring it to the theater. So like my parents have been supportive, but in a very, like nuts and bolts kind of way. Miko Lee: That's so sweet and that's so important. When I was doing the theater, my mom would come to every single show. Lauren Yee: Just Oh, bless that is, bless her. [00:46:14] Miko Lee: Ridiculous commitment. Yeah. I don't that for my kids, like every show. I wanna back up a little bit cuz we're talking about family. Can you tell me who are your people and where do you come from? [00:46:27] Lauren Yee: Ooh. That's such a great question. I think there are like many ways of answering that. When I think of home, I think of San Francisco, I live in New York now. But my whole youth, I grew up in San Francisco. My parents were both born there. My grandmother was born and raised there, one of my grandfathers was, born more like up the Delta and the other side of my family, my grandparents came from Toisan China. So on one hand, my family's from like that Pearl River Delta part of China. And at various times, like made a break for the United States. I think starting in the 1870s and spanning into the early 20th century you know, so we've been here for a while. And another way of thinking about it is we're all very, I think, suffused in our family's history in San Francisco. It's hard for me to go to a Chinese restaurant with my family without somebody from our table knowing somebody else in the restaurant, like inevitable. And it's something that never happens to me. I don't think it's ever happened to me when living in New York. Yeah. And I think And that's fun. That's fun. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. And I think b eing able to be Chinese American. Growing up in San Francisco, it's different than other, Asian Americans living in other parts of the country. Like in a strange way, it allows you to like be more of whoever you wanna be, right? When you're like not the only one. That it allows you to like, potentially choose a different path and not have to worry about. I don't know, just like carrying that load. [00:48:01] Miko Lee: That is so interesting. Do you mean because there's safety, because you're around so many other Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, that you can bring forth a greater sense of your individuality? [00:48:13] Lauren Yee: Yeah, I think so, like I went to Lowell High School where, you know, two thirds of the class is Asian American. There's just such a wide range of what an Asian American student at Lowell looks like. And what we're interested in and how our weird obsessions manifest so I think I just felt more freedom in differentiating myself cuz I like theater and I like storytelling. [00:48:36] Miko Lee: That's really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing that. I'm wondering, because Cambodian rock band is partially about when the communists took over Cambodia. If, when you were growing up as a multi-generational Chinese American, did you hear very much about communism and the impact on China? [00:48:57] Lauren Yee: I did not. And possibly it was swirling around. And I was too young to really understand the impacts. But when I look back on it, a lot of my plays, Cambodian Rock Band included, have to do with the intersection of Communism and American culture. Like another play I have called The Great Leap which was at ACT in San Francisco, also dealt with American culture like basketball, intersecting in communist China in the 1970s and then the 1980s. And like, honestly, in retrospect, the effects of communism were all around me growing up in San Francisco in the nineties. That the kids that I went to school with, like in elementary school, came there in various waves, but a lot of them pushed from Asia because of the influences of communism that you had of a wave of kids who came over. In the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, you had kids who came preempting, the Hong Kong handover back to China. You had kids, who came to San Francisco in the wake of the fall of the Vietnam War. So there were like all these, political movements the effects of war that were like shaping the people around me. And I didn't realize it until like very much later. [00:50:19] Miko Lee: Oh, that's so interesting. Thank you so much. By the way. I really loved the Great Leap. It was such an interesting thank you way of really talking about some deep issues, but through such an American sport like basketball I enjoyed that so much. So thank you so much for sharing about your San Francisco influence. I'm curious because you've been writing TV now limited series like Pachinko and also congrats on writing the musical for Wrinkle In Time. Amazing. Thank you. [00:50:49] Lauren Yee: That is a book that I loved and just shook me, I forget what grade I was in, but I was probably like, 10 or 11 or something. So I think the fact that I get to interface and get to dig into such an iconic work as Wrinkle in Time, blows my mind. [00:51:05] Miko Lee: That is going to be so exciting. I'm really looking forward to that. Yeah. Yeah. But my question was really about you working on Pachinko and these other series, how different is playwriting to screen versus TV writing? [00:51:17] Lauren Yee: Yeah. I think in a way like the work that I did on Pachinko, for instance, like I was on the writing staff, that's a role where you're like supporting the creator of the show, which in this instance is Sue Hugh, who is just an incredible mind. And she had like kind of this vision for what she wanted to do with the adaptation of Pachinko. And, you know, you, as a writer on staff you're really helping to support that. So I think your role is a little bit different when you're brought on staff for tv that you're helping to birth the thing along and contribute your part. Whereas when you're a playwright like the piece remains with you, and you just have I think a greater sense of control over what happens to it. [00:52:00] Miko Lee: What surprised you in your creative process while you were working on this play, this musical? [00:52:08] Lauren Yee: I think the thing that I realized when I was writing Cambodian Rock Band is that in order for the play to really click together is that joy has to be at the center of it. That Cambodian rock band is a piece about art and artists and family surviving really horrific events. And in order to tell that story, you need to fall in love with the music. You need to understand why these people might have risked their lives. For art, you need to understand why art matters. And I think a feature of my work is finding the light in dark places that there is a lot, in the play that is heavy. There are points where it is surprisingly and shockingly funny and that there are moments of just incredible heart in places like you probably won't be expecting. And I think that's been a big lesson of developing this piece. [00:53:14] Miko Lee: Lauren Yee thank you so much for talking with me and sharing about Cambodian Rock Band and your artistic process. I know it's gonna be running at Berkeley rep February 25th through April 2nd. Where else is it running for folks that might not live in the Bay? [00:53:30] Lauren Yee: Yeah, so if you live in the Bay Area, or if you want just see it again, which is totally fine. Lots of people see it again. This same production is going to travel to arena stage in DC over the summer in the fall it'll be at Fifth Avenue and Act Theater up in Seattle, and then at the very beginning of 2024 it will be at Center Theater Group. [00:53:54] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I really appreciate you and your work out there in the world. [00:54:00] Lauren Yee: Thank you, Miko. [00:54:02] Miko Lee: That was playwright Lauren Yee. And I'm going to play you out, hearing one song from Dengue Fever, which is in Cambodian rock band. This is Uku. song [00:56:55] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for joining us. Please check out our website, kpfa.org backslash program, backslash apex express to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex express is produced by Miko Lee Jalena Keane-Lee and Paige Chung and special editing by Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the KPFA staff for their support have a great night. The post APEX Express – 2.9.23 Theatre & Memory or Why Art Matters appeared first on KPFA.