DATE CHANGE PENDING – GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

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The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George Stephanopoulos. Image and book cover courtesy of Hachette Book Group.

Tag: Performing Arts

Yemandja: Behind the Work

Join us for this in depth conversation with Angélique Kidjo, Naïma Hebrail Kidjo, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, and Mary Jane Marcasiano about the exciting world premiere production of Yemandja.

Yemandja premieres at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA on March 4 & 5. Learn more and buy tickets at
https://massmoca.org/event/yemandja-world-premiere/

“…there is Yemandja in every culture.” — Angélique Kidjo

Global superstar and four-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo stars in Yemandja, a new music theater work that is at once family drama and historical thriller, redolent of Greek tragedy and infused with themes of love, betrayal, honor, free will, and the horror and injustice of slavery. Named for a Yoruban deity, this MASS MoCA co-commission is a panoramic work of magical realism, a parable about gods and humans that illuminates through song what can happen when people are robbed of their culture.

Created in residency at MASS MoCA, Yemandja is written by Naïma Hebrail Kidjo, directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce, with visual design by artist Kerry James Marshall, and features a cast of 10 performers plus four musicians.

Last year, Kidjo was honored as one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women from around the world and named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of 2021.” Read the Time tribute by Alicia Keys here.

Yemandja
Conceived by Angélique Kidjo, Jean Hebrail & Naïma Hebrail Kidjo
Book & Lyrics by Naïma Hebrail Kidjo
Music by Angélique Kidjo & Jean Hebrail
Developed with and Directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Production Designer Kerry James Marshall
Music Director Darryl Archibald
Lighting Designer Kathy A. Perkins
Projections Designer Rasean Davonte Johnson
Costume Designer Mary Jane Marcasiano
Choreographer Beatrice Capote
Sound Designer Kumi Ishizawa
Dramaturg Iyvon E.
Sensitivity Coach Ann James
Casting Andrea Zee

Yemandja is co-commissioned by MASS MoCA, ArtsEmerson, The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College, Brown University Arts Institute, Cal Performances, Ruth and Stephen Hendel, Holland Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Yale Schwarzman Center. Produced by THE OFFICE performing arts + film.

*Yemandja program description by MASS MoCA*

Recorded and edited by Patrick Dawson for Guild Hall

New York is Burning by Les Ballet Afrik presented with The Church and Works & Process at the Guggenheim

New York is Burning
Les Ballet Afrik
with Omari Wiles

Show and Tell Presentation at The Church, Sag Harbor

Commissioned before the pandemic, New York Is Burning was to honor the 30th anniversary of the of the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, which received critical acclaim for its depiction of New York’s LGBTQ Ballroom scene and of voguing as a powerful expression of personal pride in the face of racism, homophobia, and the stigma of the AIDS crisis. In uncanny resemblance and just as Paris Is Burning did for New York in the 1980s, New York Is Burning reflects the aspirations, desires, and yearnings of a diverse group of dancers in a city again beset by health, race, and financial crises. Led by choreographer and dancer Omari Wiles, the founding father of the House of Oricci and a legend within the Ballroom community, New York Is Burning centers on the artists for whom the dance company serves as a surrogate family including Kya Azeen, Eva Bust A’ Move, Algin Ford-Sterling, Alora Martinez, Shireen Rahimi, Milerka Rodriguez, Yuki Sukezane, and Yuhee Yang. 

New York Is Burning is commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim and at the peak of the pandemic received Works & Process bubble residencies at Catskill Mountain Foundation and Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. Works & Process bubble residencies were made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. New York Is Burning is also supported by at Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process and Destination” residency at The Church, Sag Harbor, in partnership with Guild Hall and Sag Harbor Cinema.

COVID-19 PROTOCOL: Attendees must be fully vaccinated and must show proof on arrival. Face masks are required.

Guild Hall Exclusive: POETICS OF PLACE PODCASTS with Alastair Gordon and Guest Calvin Klein

Exclusive to Guild Hall Patrons! An advance preview of Alastair Gordon’s interview with Calvin Klein. Available exclusively for one week only before wide release on Spotify. Access begins on Sunday, November 21 and will end at 11:59pm on Sunday, November 28.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN

POETICS OF PLACE PODCASTS
with Alastair Gordon
© 2021

“Calvin Klein in the Hamptons”

Alastair Gordon talks to legendary fashion designer Calvin Klein about creating a Hamptons beach house for himself. Calvin describes the long and painstaking process of collaboration he went through to create his own minimalist sanctuary on a sweeping ocean-front property in Southampton, NY. In the process, he treated every surface and material with the same intense attention to detail he used in his collections. As Calvin says in the podcast, “If I hadn’t been a fashion designer, I would have become an architect.”

Host: Alastair Gordon

Guest: Calvin Klein

With Edwina Von Gal (landscape designer), Fred Stelle (architect), and Michael Lomont (architect).

The Poetics of Place podcast series is produced by ElectraCast Media & Gordon de Vries Studio (Peter Rafelson, Mark Netter, Alastair Gordon, Barbara de Vries) with cultural co-sponsor Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY.

Calvin Klein’s Southampton home.

 

DESIRE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL

The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center and Guild Hall present
A Staged Reading of
DESIRE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL
by Pablo Picasso

Directed by Scott Sheppard

Featuring members of Lightning Rod Special: Alex Bechtel, Melanye Finister, Fernando Gonzalez, Lee Minora, Matteo Scammell, Terran Scott, and Jacinta Yelland.

In the winter of 1941, soon after the Germans had occupied Paris, Picasso spent three days writing a play entitled Le Désir attrapé par la queue, which translates literally to “Desire caught by the tail.” It was first presented at a reading in the Paris apartment of Michel Leiris in 1944. The parts were read by such local literati as Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Valentine Hugo, Raymond Queneau, and Picasso himself. Albert Camus directed.

While the narrative is nonlinear and the meaning nearly impossible to decipher, the work has been praised despite (and sometimes for) its lack of message. According to legend, when Picasso showed it to Gertrude Stein, she advised him to go back to painting. Described as “surrealistic” and “simply weird,” this short play is rarely produced due to sheer incomprehensibility.

In 1984 a production by the Eye and Ear Theater, directed by Taylor Mead, was presented at the John Drew Theater in conjunction with the Guild Hall exhibition, “Artists in the Theater.” Now, in homage to this 1984 presentation and in continued celebration of Guild Hall’s 90th Anniversary, we revisit this aesthetic curiosity – presented as a one hour staged reading at the John Drew Theater in partnership with The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center as an element of their current exhibition Picasso in Pollock.

Directed by Scott R. Sheppard – an OBIE-Award winning theater artist, Co-Director of the Philadelphia-based performance ensemble Lightning Rod Special, and alumnus of Guild Hall’s Artist In Residence Program – who will bring members of his gifted ensemble out to be in residence again at Guild Hall, where they will revisit and recreate the strange poetry and magic of the play for this live, one-time-only, ephemeral matinee. A must-see for all theatrical adventurers and students of the curious and the odd!

The eAT Coffee Bar will be open for drinks and refreshments!

Guests attending programs indoors in the John Drew Theater must show proof of full vaccination. Click HERE for full  COVID-19 protocol for guests.

Behind the Screen with Bel Canto Boot Camp: Setting Orpheus and Eurydice

Come meet Bel Canto Boot Camp in person! In collaboration with Guild Hall of East Hampton, BCBC explores this fall’s Met: Live in HD repertoire.  Bel Canto Boot Camp aims to unite the rich traditions of the past with the exciting productions in today’s opera house.

Join BCBC co-founders, Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff, as we explore the varied settings of the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice – from Monteverdi to Ricky Ian Gordon via Gluck and Offenbach.

This program is presented in tandem with The Met: Live in HD screening of Eurydice. A complimentary coffee from our eAT Coffee Bar will be available for all participants between the lecture and screening.

Fitted face masks are required for all guests over the age of 2 indoors regardless of vaccination status, except when eating or drinking. Click HERE for full COVID-19 protocol.

Behind the Screen with Bel Canto Boot Camp: Opera Today and Tomorrow

Come meet Bel Canto Boot Camp in person! In collaboration with Guild Hall of East Hampton, BCBC explores this fall’s Met: Live in HD repertoire. Bel Canto Boot Camp aims to unite the rich traditions of the past with the exciting productions in today’s opera house.

Join the conversation with BCBC co-founders, Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff, as we discuss the current trends in opera – musical, dramatic and visual. How do we define opera in 2021? How does the present shape our experience of the past? And our expectations of the future? 

This program is presented in tandem with The Met: Live in HD screening of Fire Shut Up In My Bones. A complimentary coffee from our eAT Coffee Bar will be available for all participants between the lecture and screening.

Guests attending programs indoors in the John Drew Theater must show proof of full vaccination. Click HERE for full  COVID-19 protocol for guests.

Behind the Screen with Bel Canto Boot Camp: The Russian Chorus

Come meet Bel Canto Boot Camp in person! In collaboration with Guild Hall of East Hampton, BCBC explores this fall’s Met: Live in HD repertoire. Bel Canto Boot Camp aims to unite the rich traditions of the past with the exciting productions in today’s opera house.

Join BCBC co-founders Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff as they explore the rich tradition of Russian choral singing. In operas with political plots the chorus provides the social context in which the action takes place. Many voices together provide the voice of different nations, peoples, and social classes, sometimes wanting different outcomes. The chorus paints the picture of what the people believe, think, and want.

This program is presented in tandem with The Met: Live in HD screening of Boris Gudonov (encore screening). A complimentary coffee from our eAT Coffee Bar will be available for all participants between the lecture and screening.

Guests attending programs indoors in the John Drew Theater must show proof of full vaccination. Click HERE for full  COVID-19 protocol for guests.

A World Within a World: The Bay Houses of Long Island

Directed by Barbara Weber, A World Within a World: The Bay Houses of Long Island (2020, 58 min.) explores the symbiotic relationship between nature and mankind.  Focusing on the South Shore bay homes of Hempstead, Long Island, Weber captures the perseverance and dedication of generational bay homeowners. Preserving century long traditions, battling eroding marshlands, and enduring hurricane strength storms are just some of the many tribulations these families face.

A resident of Long Beach, NY, Barbara would notice the bay houses as she periodically drove over the Loop Parkway from where several bay houses can be seen. For years she had been very curious about these other worldly structures that looked as if they were built during a much earlier time. It wasn’t until she came upon a sign within the Lido Beach Nature Preserve that she learned that these were called bay houses. 

“I was so excited and felt compelled to tell this story,” says Barbara Weber. “I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a documentary on them. Having scored the soundtrack for over 33 films, basically you are a storyteller yourself. I knew I had what it took to put this film together. I then found Nancy Solomon, the director of Long Island Traditions who wrote a book about the bay houses; now in its second edition. Nancy was able to secure the bulk of funding for this project and bring me and my crew into the bay house world.”

The Film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Guild Hall Executive Director Andrea Grover with Director Barbara Weber, Nancy Solomon, the Director of Long Island Traditions, artist Daniel Pollera.

Click HERE to view the film’s trailer.

THIS PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE INDOORS IN THE JOHN DREW THEATER. Guests attending any INDOOR John Drew Theater programs must show proof of FULL vaccination. At this time, only fully vaccinated guests are permitted to attend programs in the indoor theater.  Face coverings are required indoors for all guests over the age of two, regardless of vaccinated status.

Click HERE for full COVID-19 information to review prior to your visit.

The Met: Live in HD – Eurydice

The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days. Brilliant American composer Matthew Aucoin now carries that tradition into the 21st century with a captivating new take on the story—a product of the Met’s commissioning program. With a libretto by Sarah Ruhl, adapted from her acclaimed 2003 play, the opera reimagines the familiar tale from Eurydice’s point of view. Yannick Nézet-Séguin oversees the December 4 transmission, leading Aucoin’s evocative music and an immersive new staging by Mary Zimmerman. Soprano Erin Morley sings the title role, opposite baritone Joshua Hopkins as Orpheus and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński as his otherworldly alter-ego. Bass-baritone Nathan Berg is Eurydice’s father and fellow resident of the underworld, with tenor Barry Banks as Hades himself. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Learn more about this opera with a FREE pre-opera lecture with Behind the Screen with Bel Canto Boot Camp. Join us before the screening for a participatory and in depth analysis with BCBC co-founders Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff.

Run time: 183 minutes

Additional Met Live Programs:
October 16: Encore Screening of Boris Godunov
October 23: Fire Shut Up In My Bones

The eAT Coffee Bar will be open for drinks and refreshments!

Fitted face masks are required for all guests over the age of 2 indoors regardless of vaccination status, except when eating or drinking. Click HERE for full COVID-19 protocol.

The Met: Live in HD – Fire Shut Up In My Bones

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir, which The New York Times praised after its 2019 world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as “bold and affecting” and “subtly powerful.” The first opera by a Black composer presented on the Met stage and featuring a libretto by filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, the opera tells a poignant and profound story about a young man’s journey to overcome a life of trauma and hardship. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown—two of the creators of the Met’s sensational recent production of Porgy and Bess—co-direct this new staging, which appears in cinemas on October 23. Baritone Will Liverman, one of opera’s most exciting young artists, stars as Charles, alongside sopranos Angel Blue as Destiny/Loneliness/Greta and Latonia Moore as Billie. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Learn more about this opera with a FREE pre-opera lecture with Behind the Screen with Bel Canto Boot Camp. Join us before the screening for a participatory and in depth analysis with BCBC co-founders Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff.

Run time: 175 minutes

Additional Met Live Programs:
October 16: Encore Screening of Boris Godunov
December 4: Eurydice

The eAT Coffee Bar will be open for drinks and refreshments!

Guests attending programs indoors in the John Drew Theater must show proof of full vaccination. Click HERE for full  COVID-19 protocol for guests.