THE 2011 FIRESTORM SERIES

A Unique Collaboration:

Capital Repertory Theatre/The Art Center of the Capital Region

showcasing

Mamet’s powerful RACE
Controversy. Conversation. Community.

A MOHU offering

Albany, NY – Oct. 5, 2011 – Art, like love, some say, is in the eye and mind of the beholder. The same might be said for the magic of theatre. Two esteemed Capital Region art organizations – Albany’s Capital Repertory Theatre and The Art Center of the Capital Region (Troy) -- test that conjecture with a special performance this October under the banner of the FIRESTORM SERIES. The event is part of this year’s inaugural MoHu Arts Festival that will envelop the Capital Region this Fall.

According to Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Capital Rep’s Producing Artistic Director, the Firestorm Series is truly a collaborative project: “Capital Rep and The Arts Center for the Capital Region share complementary missions to create powerful experiences through art. We want art to be relevant and part of community conversations about issues that people care about. Art is such an ally of critical thinking. It stirs the emotion and the intellect and can help people take action -- that’s what this series of play readings is all about.”
In the spirit of the MoHu Arts Festival, the collaboration between these dynamic Capital Region arts organizations will extend to an October 14th reading of Poe’s Telltale Heart, adapted from the works of Edgar Allen Poe by Capital Repertory Theatre’s Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill.

FIRESTORM SERIES
A Live Reading and Discussion of David Mamet's RACE
Thursday, October 13, 7 pm
The Art Center of the Capital Region; 265 River Street, Troy 12180
$12/$10 members of the Arts Center and Capital Rep subscribers
The popular theater and discussion series returns with Davis Mamet’s RACE, a taut legal drama that examines the assumptions about color, gender, ethnicity and class as a law firm is asked to take the case of a wealthy businessman accused of raping a woman of color.
This reading features popular professional veteran actors from the region: Timothy Dugan, Timothy Hull, Erica Tryon, and Kevin Craig-West.
The discussion afterward will be led by two esteemed educators:

• Rochelle Calhoun, Dean of Student Affairs at Skidmore College.
W. Rochelle Calhoun has worked at Mount Holyoke College for twenty-three years where she served as the Assistant Dean of Students, the Ombudsperson, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion, the Associate Dean of the College/Dean of Students, the Acting Dean of the College and ended her tenure as the Executive Director of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College. Rochelle joined Skidmore College as the Dean of Student Affairs on July 1, 2008. She has served on the board of directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice Western Massachusetts, and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst Fine Arts Center.

• Christian Sundquist, faculty, Albany Law School.
Mr. Sundquist joined the Albany Law School faculty in 2006. Formerly an associate with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, New York, N.Y.; Trademark Law Clerk, Manelli, Denison & Selter LLC, Washington, D.C.; and senior editor of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy.
Each speaker has been asked to take a different viewpoint on the question, “Is it possible NOT to be a little bit racist in modern America?”

About RACE
“I truly believe that art can serve as a lens through which we can examine our own day-to-day circumstances more clearly – and an also distort,” says Jill Rafferty-Weinisch, Director of Performing Arts and Outreach for The Arts Center of the Capital Region. “It’s exciting to me to see how this masterful play can illuminate important issues and get us talking about them.”

In his December 2009 review of RACE, titled In Mametland, a Skirmish in Black and White, The New York Times critic BEN BRANTLEY “an assured craftsman, Mr. Mamet builds his structure with precision and with what feels like a certain weariness with his own facility. What’s lacking is the fusion of story, theme and character that lends bona fide suspense to his plays. In American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross and Oleanna (which received a less-than-exemplary Broadway production this season), the dialogue is fueled by the desperation of the characters. Much of the excitement in listening to them comes from hearing how their words, initially used as tools and weapons, become their prisons.

John Simon of Bloomberg praised RACE "a high-voltage melodrama that is unafraid to raise painful questions while dispensing prickly ideas and provocative dialogue amid steady suspense." He added that "play is full of wry jokes, epigrammatic jolts, and acrid, even cheeky provocations, which, depending on the extent of your guilt feelings, can be taken as deserved flagellation or perfervid overstatement."
Speaking from on stage at Capital Rep, Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill said that she can envision the October 13 exchange and relishes the upcoming discussion.
“Selfishly, RACE is on Capital Rep’s short list for the 2012-13 season. The October 13 reading is going to do double duty for me – It’s great for discussion – and great for me to really judge more accurately the appropriateness of the play for our subscribers.

“We named this annual event Firestorm for a good reason,” she says “and RACE is sure to challenge our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. Those of us who love the exchange of ideas as much as we love theatre, find the Series enriching.”
She is also pleased that Alex Broun’s 50 Guns will be the next installment of the Series.

Potential Firestorm of Interest, Debate
When asked why The Firestorm Series was created, Capital Repertory Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill said, “From the beginning of time, theatre has been associated with social discourse. The works in The Firestorm Series aren’t ‘safe’ or ‘politically correct’. They are meant to stir us up. They were chosen because they purposefully help us explore gray areas – through art and public discussion.”

According to Jill Rafferty-Weinisch, “We hope that this series provides us with an opportunity to come together as a community and to have art fuel discussion about the issues that matter to all of us. It’s a forum for bringing these difficult ideas into the realm of public discourse.”
The series marks the inauguration of the second year for the collaboration between Capital Repertory Theatre and The Arts Center of the Capital Region.

Mancinelli-Cahill and Rafferty are long-time collaborators. Their work together date back 14 years when Rafferty-Weinisch worked at Capital Rep as Director of Education, creating the theatre’s summer program for teens and Artist-in-Residency programs for at-risk youth at Harriet Gibbons High School and Rensselaer Middle Schools—all ongoing programs today.

“Jill and I have a great working relationship and a history of developing programs that aim to positively impact the greater good of our communities. We wanted to do something that would bring disparate voices together through art. People want to come together to examine tough issues and we want to pave the way for that to happen with new works of theatre.”
Admission is $12/$10 for Capital Rep subscribers and Arts Centers members. Reservations are necessary. For tickets visit www.artscenteronline.org or call The Arts Center of the Capital Region at (518) 273-0552.

THE TELLTALE HEART, an excerpt from Pure Poe
Adapted from the works of Edgar Allen Poe by Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill
Friday, October 14, 6:30pm & 8:00pm
The Art Center of the Capital Region, 265 River Street, Troy 12180
FREE
Capital Repertory Theater combines the power of art and literature to plumb the depths of remembrance, embrace the power of words, celebrate storytelling and to explore the whispered subtleties within Poe that haunt and excite us and add to his endurance as a writer.
In this excerpt from Pure Poe – an educational performance currently touring area schools, actor Kent Burnham, under the direction of Maggie Mancinnelli-Cahill, brings Poe’s iconic tale of murder and guilt eerily to life.
“Already,” says Jill Rafferty-Weinisch, Director of Performing Arts and Outreach at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, “we are receiving calls about this performance with Capital Rep’s Pure Poe being presented as part of the special

MOHU Troy Night Out.
“Because it is Troy Night Out, the performance is free. Seating will be limited and on a first-come/first-served basis for performances at 6:30pm and 8pm. The show will run approximately 20 minutes each time and the audience may not come and go. Latecomers will be turned away. The performance is excellent and we anticipate a good crowd.”

For information about purchasing tickets to full performances of Pure Poe visit the Capital Rep website http://capitalrep.org/education/on-the-go.php
_____
About Capital Rep
Capital Repertory Theatre has a rich, local history of excellent entertainment and strong community relationships. Established in 1981, it came into existence through the dedication and perseverance of a group of Albany business, community and civic leaders. Donated labor, materials and expertise transformed the Grand Cash Market, an abandoned supermarket at 111 North Pearl Street, into what was to become the home of Albany's first professional resident theatre.

Over the past 30 years, the facility on North Pearl Street has been renovated several times, and now includes a 286-seat theatre, a café space, a costume-making shop, and a rehearsal hall. In addition to returning more than 83% of its operating budget directly back to the local community, Capital Rep brings vitality and commerce to downtown in the form of more than 75,000 diners, shoppers, and tourists, serving as an economic engine in the entertainment district on North Pearl Street.
In all programs and services, Capital Repertory Theatre reflects its mission by embracing its community as a source of inspiration. Capital Rep embraces cast, crew and audiences from every background to expand the horizons of thought and understanding of the human condition through the power of theatre.
Capital Repertory Theatre is a professional, not-for-profit cultural organization, and the only member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) within fourteen counties of the Upper Hudson-Mohawk Valley.

As a proud member of LORT, an esteemed organization that promotes the positive impact of theatres in the arts and communities nationwide, Capital Rep is able to create excellent opportunities for both up-and-coming and seasoned theatre professionals. Today, these affiliated theatres provide artists with a support system for developing new work, as well as reviving classics and perennial favorites. LORT members strive to provide hundreds of thousands of people with the opportunity to experience the highest caliber of performance right in their own communities. For more information about LORT, please visit http://www.lort.org/.

About The Arts Center of the Capital Region
The Arts Center of the Capital Region is a regional multi-arts center that enriches the lives of more than 60,000 people a year. Since 1962 its mission has been “to engage individuals in the making and experiencing of the arts.” Located in in downtown Troy, New York and serving visitors drawn from 13 counties surrounding the city, the 36,000 square foot, fully-accessible space includes state-of-the-art, discipline-specific studios for pottery, digital arts, printmaking, culinary arts, jewelrymaking and metalworking, woodworking, painting and drawing, stained glass, framemaking, and dance. It also includes a 99-seat theater for performing arts events, and four art galleries. Its faculty and guest curators consist of nationally and regionally renowned writers, performers, and artists. Further, many area artists and organizations use The Center for meetings, events, and performances, and depend upon it for technical assistance in finance, planning, fundraising, administration, and grantsmanship. Last year nearly 2,000 students enrolled in one of the 319 classes offered at The Arts Center, including 275 students from Hudson Valley Community College who received college credit for their work here.
The Art Center’s commitment to the community goes beyond offering high-quality classes, performances, and exhibitions. It is dedicated to access in the broadest sense of the word. The Arts Center brings its programs out into the community through an, Arts In Education Outreach Program targeting students in grades k-12, and Arts Center staff participates in community-wide festivals and events. The Center has an ongoing relationship with adult special needs learners through partnerships with the Center for Disability Services, Wildwood, Rensselaer and Brunswick ARCs, New Visions, Northeast Association of the Blind at Albany, Saratoga Bridges, and the Roarke Center – and this list is growing. It also has a thriving scholarship program which allows economically disadvantaged children, teens, and adults to enroll in classes and participate in week-long arts camps during school breaks.

The Arts Center’s annual operating budget is $1.3 million. Despite an uncertain economy, because it earns approximately 50% of its annual operating income and because class enrollment remains robust, The Center continues to be a thriving organization that is on sound financial footing. The Center is committed to remaining affordable, accessible, and responsive to the community. By fulfilling its mission, The Arts Center encourages artists of all ages, abilities, and economic and cultural backgrounds to experiment with their own creativity and style in a direct, hands-on way.

THE ARTS CENTER OF THE CAPITAL REGION, 265 River Street, Troy, NY 12180. P (518) 273-0552; F (518) 273-4591; www.artscenteronline.org

NYSCA Support
Both The Arts Center of the Capital Region and Capital Repertory Theatre receive general support from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

Contacts:
• Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Capital Repertory Theatre, 518-382-3884, x400; mcahill@capitalrep.org
• Jill Raferty-Weinisch, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, 518-273-0552, x233; jill@artscenteronlone.org

Posted by Gail M. Burns - September 2011

The Wait is Over!

Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-WINNING BEST MUSICAL
“Jersey Boys”
DIRECTED BY DES McANUFF

JERSEY BOYS
Feb 28 ~ Mar 4 2012

Full engagement: Feb 28 ~ Mar 18. The New York Post raved that JERSEY BOYS is “too good to be true!” JERSEY BOYS is, of course, the enduring 2006 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. These four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history: they wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30! JERSEY BOYS, winner of the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album and most recently, the 2009 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, features their hit songs SHERRY, BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY, RAG DOLL, OH WHAT A NIGHT and CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU. “IT WILL RUN FOR CENTURIES!” proclaims Time Magazine. Rush to see it so you can see it again!

Tickets buyers for JERSEY BOYS should contact Proctors Box Office at 518•346•6204; Fax: 518-881-1823; 432 State Street Schenectady or visit Proctors online at proctors.org for more information on this and other exciting entertainment offerings.

Key Bank: A decade of support

September marks the 10th consecutive year that the Key Private Bank Broadway Series has sponsored the best of Broadway magic at Proctors. The 2011 – 2012 season is no exception – with five of the hottest hits this side of the Great White Way– LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, SHREK The Musical, JERSEY BOYS and MEMPHIS.

“KeyBank is proud of our association with Proctors,” says Senior Vice President Fran O’Rourke. “We particularly appreciate our ongoing partnership and the tradition we have established of bringing Broadway’s best to Schenectady and the entire Capital Region through the Key Private Bank Broadway series. Not only does Proctors have what it takes to host high-profile and tactically demanding shows, they do it in a first-class way that has united the community and excited the region.”

The Key Private Bank Broadway Series at Proctors is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties.

LOCAL AUTHORS TO READ AT PROCTORS

In MOHU Celebration
-----
Books available in Proctors Gift Centre

Schenectady, NY – Sept. 28, 2011 --- The spirit and energy of the upcoming Capital Region’s MOHU Arts Festival has not eluded the literary world.

Local authors Winifred Elze (The Borgia Prince), John Blandly (The Greatest Novel Ever Written), Lucilla Epps (Phantom’s Legacy), and Zackary Richards (Noon) will read from their work and take questions about writing and publishing from the audience at Proctors Bookstore on Saturday, October 15, from 1:00PM to 2:30PM. The event is free and open to the public.

“People regularly stop by Proctors Gift Center to inquire about the books we carry that showcase local authors,” says Robert Warlock, who manages the two gift shops along Robb Alley in Proctors. “They ask about the authors and their literary careers. It seemed only natural to schedule this rare event in concert with the 9-day MoHu Festival of the Arts.

About the Authors
WINIFRED ELZE’s novels have been published by St. Martin’s Press and Ari Publishing, and her most recent work is a book of short stories, The $83.20 Cat. Her latest novel, Tilde, is about a bipolar artist growing up on Staten Island during the great depression. Winifred Elze lives in Schenectady and is married to Robert Warlock.

JOHN BLANDLY is an actor (EdWood Film Fest People’s Choice Award winner “G-Rated”), artist, baseball player (Capital District Senior Mens Baseball League), and filmmaker (“The John Blandly Show,” Blip TV; “johnblandly,” YouTube) from Troy, NY. He is the author of several published novels and ebooks, among them, “The Greatest Novel Ever Written,” Xlibris, 2011, “Abbie,” Synergebooks, 2011, and “Ruthy’s New Texas Lawyer Friend,” Aripublishing, 2011.

LUCILLA EPPS was born in the beautiful city of Prague, in the Czech Republic. In 1970, she and her family immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Ballston Lake, NY, where “Lucy” attended BHBL High School and continues to reside today with her husband. After receiving a BA in Communications from Simmons College in Boston, MA, Lucilla worked at several jobs – always around books. Her life-long love of writing has culminated in the publication of Phantom's Legacy, her first novel.

ZACKARY RICHARDS began writing horror stories as a hobby to entertain his preteen daughters. He submitted Frostie the Deadman to a contest and won the grand prize. The book was later published by Nicholas K. Burns Publishing. Richards is the founder of Ari Publishing and the author of five published books.

For more information on Meet the Authors at Proctors on October 15, from 1:00PM to 2:30PM, contact Robert Warlock, Proctors Gift Centre, 432 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305; 518-382-3884, ext. 128, cell: 518-256-8395.

- 30 –

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2011/09/22/entertainment/doc4e7a9da43d873574636710.txt?view

Review: 'Superior Donuts' at Cap Rep offers an empty society — with hope
Published: Thursday, September 22, 2011
More Photos
Click thumbnails to enlarge

By BOB GOEPFERT
Entertainment518|@journalregister.com

Click to enlarge
Editor's note: Find reviews, previews and lots more about area arts and entertainment in The Saratogian's Weekender section every Thursday and online under the entertainment dropdown.

Tracy Letts’ play “Superior Donuts” — which is at Albany Capital Repertory Theatre through Oct. 16 —is about the dilemma of Arthur Przybyszewski, who is struggling to carry on the family business. “Superior Donuts” is about the loss of the American Dream.

But it’s also about the people in society who have lost their sanctuaries known as the family-owned businesses.

Arthur is running the shop to atone to his dead father for the fact that he was a draft evader during the Vietnam war in the ’60s. Though he offers morning comfort to others, he lives an intensely private life.

When Franco Wicks, a young bright African-American, talks his way into a job at the shop, Arthur for the first time in years cares about another person and soon starts to care about himself.

The relationship between a bitter lonely man with a sad past and an eager young member of a minority with a hidden flaw is nothing new in the theater. What elevates “Superior Donuts” into an excellent piece of material is that Letts makes the two characters the center of a community. This is a play about the isolation of city life and the human need to share with others.

George Tynan Crowley creates a nicely shaded Arthur. He is convincing as a man who will not trust another, yet makes it understood he would like to escape his self-imposed Purgatory and live among people again. The actor tends to fall in love with some of his private moments, but he delivers a forceful portrait of a man who eventually chooses to stop running and hiding from life.

Brooks Brantly is a breath of fresh air as the confident, sassy and talented Franco. His enthusiasm for life is infectious, his comic timing perfect and his inner energy glows. It’s a great portrayal. His ebullience compliments Arthur’s withdrawn personality and the two bring vitality and a lot of comedy to their scenes together.

It is a vitality almost missing elsewhere in the production. Except for Patrick White who brings an eccentric energy to the thug that comes to collect on a debt from Franco and the comic portrayal of Max, the Russian businessman neighbor, the supporting roles add little liveliness to the night. There is nothing compelling about the characters, all of whom have a rich subtext. Instead of being part of the tapestry of the play they seem like ornaments designed to be distractions or comic relief.

It’s ironic that the Capital Repertory Theatre production excels as a two-man play and withers as a play about community. Mark Fleischer’s direction fails to capture the larger frame of the piece, focusing instead on single scenes. This causes a pace that dwells rather than sweeps the drama along and makes the rhythms of the play more staccato than flowing.

Though Fleischer isn’t the fight choreographer, he is responsible for permitting Adam McLean to stage the climactic fight scene so as to appear amateurish and phony.

Fleischer is, however, responsible for staging the end of the play, so it is mawkish rather than uplifting.

Because “Superior Donuts” is such a good piece of material that the faults of the production are merely harmful — not fatal.

The play offers a picture of an empty society but it suggests there can be hope — even for the bleakest of lives.

“Superior Donuts” at Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany. Tuesdays to Sundays through Oct. 16. Albany For tickets and complete schedule 445-7469, www.capitalrep.org

Superior Donuts @ Capital Repertory Theatre, 9/20/11
September 20, 2011 at 11:33 pm by Michael Eck
http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts/superior-donuts-capital-repertory-theatre-92011/18217/
by Michael Eck
Special to The Times Union

ALBANY – It’s not unusual to see a bad production of good play; an overall performance that knocks an artwork down a peg. It’s less common to see a fine production lift a piece up, but such is the case with Capital Repertory Theatre’s current production of Tracy Letts’ “Superior Donuts.”

“Superior” is not a bad play, far from it. But director Mark Fleischer’s staging, not to mention his cast, certainly elevates the comedy to a higher level.

What might be a nice night at the theater is made, in Fleischer’s hands, well, superior.

Fleischer’s secret weapon is George Tynan Crowley who seems to have been born to the role of donut maker Arthur Przybyszewski.

Przybyszewski is an aging hippie who, it turns out, has deep regrets.

Letts breaks up the action of the play with direct addresses from the troubled man, and Crowley’s skill keeps those moments from feeling hackneyed.

His fantastic ability to portray a man often at a loss for words informs even the moments he is offstage. Usually when a character buries his face in his hands it’s a hollow gesture, but Crowley invests it with meaning.

The play opens on a cold December morning in Chicago’s North Side. Superior Donuts — an Uptown fixture for nearly 60 years — has been broken into and trashed, and neighboring business owner Max Tarasov (Yury Tsykun) has called the police, who arrive in the form of Officers Randy Osteen (Lee Roy Rogers) and James Bailey (Phil McGlaston).

Quickly a small community is implied and characters are ably drawn by Letts in broad strokes.

Everything changes with the arrival of Franco Wicks (Brooks Brantly), a young African American looking to answer the ‘Help Wanted’ sign on Przybyszewski’s shop window.
“Superior Donuts” never loses sight of being a comedy, but it does address topics of race, class, conscience and economy; and when it is revealed that Franco is also an aspiring writer, it even embraces the redemptive power of art.

The tension and release between Crowley and Brantly is wonderful, and, as noted, brings an even brighter life to Letts’ somewhat busy script.

For the most part, the supporting actors (including Patrick White and Cornelius Geaney, Jr. as a pair of Irish thugs) bolster the main tale without subtracting. Roseann Cane, as alcoholic street urchin Lady Boyle, however, is too much of a caricature to be anything more than a distraction.

Fleischer, who by day is the artistic director of the Adirondack Theatre Festival, is a welcome presence on the Capital Rep stage. It’s clear that he understands the origins of the play and its sense of place. Because of that he is able to make a very detailed show feel universal.

“Superior Donuts” may not be filling, but it’s fun, and thoughtful, too.

SUPERIOR DONUTS
Performance reviewed: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Capital Repertory Theatre, 111 N. Pearl Street, Albany
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes; one intermission.
Continues: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 16.
Tickets: $20-$60
Info: 445-7469; http://www.capitalrep.org

Capital Rep presents regional premiere of 'Superior Donuts'
Capital Rep's Chicago-set 'Superior Donuts' features characters with high hopes
By Michael Eck Special to The Times Union
Published 12:00 a.m., Sunday, September 18, 2011

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Capital-Rep-presents-regional-premiere-of-2176083.php
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Mark Fleischer knows Chicago. He's lived there.
He knows the feelings of neighborhoods where many mingle, where cops walk the beat past city dwellers and shops owned by people from different nations: the Russian DVD store, the Vietnamese restaurant and the Polish doughnut shop.

Fleischer is directing Tracy Letts' uptown comedy "Superior Donuts" for Capital Repertory Theatre, and he says the show is about community.
The story focuses on doughnut shop owner, Arthur Przybyszewski, a cranky, aging radical, and Franco Wicks, a black teenager with "something to hide."

"To me," Fleischer says, "it's a very hopeful piece."
"It's about a man who has spent his life cocooned in his father's family business, and how the arrival of this new employee in his shop awakens him to some possibilities of what life could be.

"It's about someone realizing that the past can be exactly that, the past."
For Fleischer, the play is inexorably interwoven with the American Dream, a concept, perhaps, even more central to the Second City than New York.

"What is so great about this country is that there is the possibility to reinvent yourself," Fleischer says. "That is the American Dream -- and I'm not talking about pauper to president, but in terms of those little steps you can take every day. That's what this man Arthur eventually comes to realize. He's got his own secrets like we all do, secrets he's trying to live with and still move forward in life. "Then, he's got these other people around him that are very much moving forward, like Max who's trying to expand his DVD store and Franco who comes in and thinks he can improve the doughnut shop.

"It's that sense of hope and moving forward in America with very small steps. Not on a grand scale, but on a very human level."
Fleischer's main gig is as artistic director of the Adirondack Theatre Festival, a successful summer company based in Glens Falls and noted for its efforts at introducing both new works and new artists.

His arrival at Capital Rep for "Superior Donuts" is not just a meeting of the minds, but also an acknowledgement of the depth of his resume.
Fleischer was an associate at the Windy City's Steppenwolf Theater Company, where Letts developed works like the Pulitzer Prize-winning "August: Osage County" and later, in 2008, "Superior Donuts."

"I've seen Letts at work as an actor and as a writer," Fleischer says.

His knowledge of Chicago also provides Fleischer with a strong dramatic base to work from, especially when it comes to helping actors understand the story and their characters' motives. Fleischer, has, for example, had friends send photos of specific landmarks mentioned in the script -- like Carol's Pub -- in order explain to the cast the importance of neighborhood anchors, and to establish a real sense of place.
"For a general audience, Carol's may not mean much," he says, "but to be able to say to an actor, this is why it's interesting that an African-American policeman went into this country-and-western bar to find this information, does. I think having that kind of dramaturgical knowledge of Chicago is important.

"I also think that having spent my time at Steppenwolf, watching the sort of muscularity in its style, which has been there since the early days, is a boon. To be able to bring that sense, and to be able to push in terms of pace, and in terms of dialogue, is handy. It's a very testosterone-driven play, after all. There are nine characters and there are only two women."
Michael Eck is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.

On stage
"SUPERIOR DONUTS"
When: In previews; opens 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Capital Repertory Theatre, 111 N. Pearl St., Albany
Continues: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 16.
Tickets: $20-$60
Info: 445-7469; http://www.capitalrep.org

Family Fun: Gazillions of Bubbles = Mega-entertainment
Bubble Up
By Tyler Murphy/Explore

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Family-Fun-Gazillions-of-Bubbles-2173974.php
Updated 10:35 a.m., Friday, September 16, 2011
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The Gazillion Bubbles Show is coming to Proctors Theater in Schenectady on October 8th. Photo by Jon B. Platt. ()

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On stage a small child experiences the thrill of being completely engulfed within a giant bubble. She can't help but reach out to touch the shimmer of translucent film surrounding her. She just barely feels the surface tension snap as the bubble instantly explodes. A burst of water droplets shatter from the ruptured bubble and flicker across her face and body. The young girl seems startled for a second, but then lets out a shriek of sheer joy as laughter rolls across the audience.

After more than 1,500 performances, it's a moment that world renowned Gazillion Bubble Show performer Fan Yang says he still cherishes. It reminds him of his own childhood inspirations and how his youthful imagination led him to becoming the world's premier bubble performance artist.

"The show brings my joy and happiness to the world and shows a real dream to everyone -- to children and their imaginations," he says. "Child imagination is what has brought me to stages around the world."

On Oct. 8 Yang will bring two 90-minute, interactive bubble, laser and light shows to the stage at the Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. The current show has been running for 23 years and stars Yang along with his wife, Ana, and their two sons Deni and Jano, who take turns as co-performers at the events.

Like most of Yang's shows, audience members will find themselves surrounded by showers of tiny bubbles or perhaps called on stage and placed inside giant-sized bubbles of their own. A few could even have their whole family placed inside one.

In his 27 years as a performer, Yang has endured ridicule, defied scientific skeptics and written an entirely new bubble chapter into the Guinness World Records, where he is the champion of 16 record-breaking feats. For many of those records, Yang was the first to attempt them and he forced a whole new category of bubble dynamics for consideration.

In April 2008, for instance, Yang successfully encased the world's largest living land animal -- an adult elephant -- inside an 8-and-a-half-foot tall bubble. Three months earlier, he'd created a bubble with 100 people standing inside during a live broadcast of the Oprah Winfrey Show. In his five previous record-breaking acts, Yang created successively larger bubbles fitting a growing number of people inside each. Many of Yang's accomplishments have continued to gain larger scope over the course of his career as the artist has perfected his own all-natural, non-toxic, secret bubble formula.

While that may sound impressive to someone used to blowing bubbles wielding a tiny wand and bottle, Yang says one of his most magnificent achievements was in August 1997, when he defied the impossible assertion of researchers at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle by creating the world's largest bubble wall. The final product was a series of 8-foot tall bubbles stretching side by side into a continuously linked chain spanning 156 feet in length, which lasted for "about 5 or 6 seconds," he says.

"I proposed the idea to the science center and they told me it was impossible and good luck. They said the bubble film could not support how large it was and will collapse," Yang says. "To be honest with you, when I start doing this bubble thing everybody was laughing at me. At first I only had some simple bubbles, but I had a completely separate perception than they did. You say to them 'I can make one 100 feet long' and they say you're crazy. But you can, you can prove them wrong."

Yang grew up in a mud hut in the countryside of then Yugoslavia, now the Republic of Serbia, near the Hungarian border. But even as a 6-year-old boy, Yang says he felt a deep appreciation for nature and in particular a nearby river. Yang would visit a local waterfall near its banks, where he would spend much time observing the foam and bubbles created by the splashing current.

"The bubbles from the waterfall, the movement of the water, the clouds, the sky, seeing a rainbow -- there were many things I found fascinating all around," he says.

In his early years Yang traveled Europe as a juggling stage performer. When he was 18, Yang saw a group of kids playing with bubbles in the park and decided to incorporate them into his routine. "I watched them and wondered if we could make them bigger, I had to try," he says. At the time, Yang says the largest bubbles he could make were about a foot in diameter and only lasted a few seconds.

"Unlike most children who want to pop them, I wanted them to last longer," he says. He began to actively pursue an interest in bubble art, science and performance. Following a performance in Denmark three years later, a local television producer asked Yang to do his bubble tricks during a broadcast. He wasn't paid for his appearance and was making chains using bubbles that had grown to about 20 inches in diameter. The appearance provoked a wide interest in the artist, who was asked to appear on more shows. "This is when my bubble career really started and I began reading more about fluid, molecular water compositions and putting together my own solutions," he says.

In 1997 Yang sent a letter to the Guinness World Records organization asking if they would be interested in a new record involving different bubble feats. Such a category didn't even exist. Yang created the world's largest bubble, a 7.5-foot tall marvel. The rest is history. Now when Guinness finds a new bubble feat to add to its collection, they contact Yang about setting the standard to compete against, he says. "People will not be able to believe their eyes," he says, "when they see what a bubble can do."

The Gazillion Bubble Show,

Saturday, Oct. 8, Proctors Theater, Schenectady.

www.proctors.org for tickets.

(Photos by Jon B. Platt)

Schenectady, NY – September 13, 2011 -- Capital Region film and music aficionados recall the minutes-long standing ovation accorded to local organist Avery Tunningley masterful accompaniment of Metropolis last season at Proctors – with his original score.

Mr. Tunningley is prepared to repeat history at two upcoming performances of BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN on Sept. 25 – 26 when he presses the capacity of Proctors Mighty Wurlitzer Goldie on the magnificent Mainstage at Proctors. "Goldie", an 18 voice, three-keyboard instrument that includes a full set of percussion Instruments and a grand piano that can be played from the organ console.

Sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, this 1925 silent film is directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm. It presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime.
The Battleship Potemkin has been called one of the most influential propaganda films of all time, and was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.

The story
Odessa. 1905. Enraged with the deplorable conditions on board the armored cruiser Potemkin, the ship's loyal crew contemplates the unthinkable: mutiny. Seizing control of the Potemkin and raising the red flag of revolution, the sailors' revolt becomes the rallying point for a Russian populace ground under the boot heels of the Czar's Cossacks. When ruthless White Russian cavalry arrive to crush the rebellion on the sandstone Odessa Steps, the most famous and quoted film sequence in cinema history is born. 



For eight decades, Eisenstein's masterpiece has remained one of the most influential silent films of all time -- yet each successive generation has seen BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN subjected to censorship and recutting, its unforgettable power diluted in unauthorized public domain editions from dubious sources. 



This all-new restoration restores dozens of missing shots and all 146 original title cards, returning the film to a form as close to its creator's bold vision as has been seen since the film's triumphant Moscow premiere. 


This 1925 silent film will be accompanied by "Goldie" the Wurlitzer Organ, played by Avery Tunningley.

Mr. Tunningley has been a professional musician since 1979. A life-long upstate New Yorker, he has played numerous venues as a pianist and an organist throughout New York State. As a pianist he plays cabaret style shows in theatres, libraries and restaurants.

As an organist he is primarily a silent movie accompanist and regularly plays improvised theatre organ underscores for films at the Capitol Theatre in Rome, NY. He has always held church organist positions; and he currently plays for St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Delmar, NY. In addition to performing, he teaches piano and organ.

Mr. Tunningley commented on the film and his score for the upcoming BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN at Proctors.

“BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN is a powerful and deeply moving film. This is a movie for the adventurous, with nearly non-stop action and stunning visual impact. I have created a new score exclusively for this occasion.

“My rendition will be filled with music that covers a full spectrum of moods from quietly sentimental to a roller coaster ride of dramatic content. The story line of this epic movie is unique.

“It has been a huge but thrilling challenge to write music to support such an amazing plot. This is sure to be a memorable event for movie and organ enthusiasts alike!”

Showtimes
• Sunday, September 25 - 2:00 pm
• Monday, September 26 - 7:00 pm

Not Rated. Running Time: 69 min.

A silent comedy short will precede the feature.
Ticket Prices: $10 advance, $12 at the door, $2 off for students and senior citizens.

CONTACT
For more information, please contact Robert Warlock, Film Program Coordinator, Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
518-382-3884 ext. 128.

B95.5 fm is the sponsor of BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN at Proctors.

Is the pattern of gentrification called the "SoHo Effect" what the organizers of MOHU like Philip Morris of Proctors and Robert Altman of WMHT have in mind?

Region poised for cultural changes
PAUL BRAY
Published 12:01 a.m., Sunday, September 11, 2011
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When I first heard about MOHU, the Oct. 8-16 Capital Region cultural festival (http://www.mohufest.com), I thought about the establishment of SOHO in New York City. Both MOHU and SOHO relate to using the arts, branding and sense of place to create an interesting destination.
SOHO, or South of Houston Street in lower Manhattan, has 250 cast-iron buildings. It once was called Hell's Hundred Acres, because it was full of sweatshops and small factories in the daytime and empty at night.
When the lower Manhattan highway scheme of Robert Moses failed, the city was left with a large number of abandoned buildings no longer useful for manufacturing and commerce. Artists recognized them as attractive for residences and work space with their large spaces and windows admitting natural light.
After city officials and artists fought over the fate of the building stock, the cast iron buildings were designated a historic district and a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The artists prevailed.
SOHO became in the late 1960s a prototype for revitalization of a large urban district and creation of an urban tourist destination. It thrives, because art galleries, good restaurants and food shops and an eclectic mix of boutiques create a sense of hipness and urban experience (a place to see and be seen, as I once saw "Love Story" actress Ali McGraw at a charcuterie, or French deli, there).
Is the pattern of gentrification called the "SoHo Effect" what the organizers of MOHU like Philip Morris of Proctors and Robert Altman of WMHT have in mind?
Morris told me their long-term goal is to "create something fun, substantial and unusual in order to celebrate what we do."
MOHU, he said, is to "celebrate overall who we are as artists and arts organizations and what we are overall, rather than just one place.''
Like SOHO, MOHU highlights arts and sense of place. SOHO focuses on artists and an architectural district, while MOHU is about arts and culture. It uses the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers as the threads that connects the many communities of our region.
The big difference and special challenge for MOHU is one of scale. SOHO is a district or portion of a city while MOHU encompasses a multi-community region.
It may not be an impossible task as a recent New York Times article, "Williamsburg on the Hudson," pointed out the emergence of a SOHO like presence in the Hudson River Valley.
The article identified Beacon, Hudson, Millerton, Kingston, Poughkeepsie and smaller communities like Tivoli, Red Hook, Accord and High Falls as examples of the SOHO effect. Regrettably, Capital Region communities were not mentioned.
Millerton, for example, is cited in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel as one of the "10 coolest small towns in America." The Times article story refers to its "old diner, renamed the Oakhurst and now serving gourmet curried chicken rolls, organic burgers and venison chili cheese fries; Eckert Fine Art, with its paintings by Eric Forstmann and Robert Rauschenberg; the fliers for the Buddhist Path of Fulfillment retreat; the sustainable agriculture benefit; the artsy, SoHo-esque Hunter Bee antiques; the three-screen Moviehouse on Main Street with its art gallery and cafe."
Will MOHU help make the Mohawk-Hudson Capital region artsy, hip, cool and more prosperous as a result? Time will tell.
Changes like the New York Times identified in the Hudson River Valley are beginning to be seen in our backyard. They include the Foundry in Cohoes, the Contemporary Arts Center, Woodside in Troy, the Barn associated with the Historic St. Joseph's Church and Grand Street Community Arts in Albany. These add a grass-roots dimension to the many arts houses we have, like Proctors in Schenectady, the Troy Music Hall, EMPAC at RPI, the Cohoes Music Hall and the Egg, Spectrum and Cap Rep in Albany, among others.
Philip Morris is an extraordinary community arts organizer, and if WMHT moves beyond being primarily a carrier of public TV programming to being an active community presence and catalyst for local arts, who knows how far MOHU could take us?
Paul M. Bray is founding former president of the Albany Roundtable civic lunch forum. His e-mail is secsunday@aol.com.