“Writing the Declaration of Independence” ~ Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (August 18, 1863 – March 18, 1930)
Thomas Jefferson (right), Benjamin Franklin (left), and John Adams (center) meet at Jefferson’s lodgings, on the corner of Seventh and High (Market) streets in Philadelphia, to review a draft of the Declaration of Independence. (See more work by Ferris.)
Congratulations to the NoHo Senior Arts Colony Readers Theatre company in North Hollywood, CA! They presented their performance of “Theatrical Disasters and Actors Flubs and Mishaps” to a delighted full house on June 16th in the Lounge. This was the 4th project of the group since its inception last August.
The readers were: Eleanor Anasar, Gretchen Hailer, Martin Greene, Judy Grimes, Vicki Finn, Barbara Howard, Susan Taylor, and Naomi Monroe, resident leader of the group.
Here’s a wonderful excerpt from the performance that Naomi sent along. It’s a perfect example of how “the show must go on:”
Shoshana Bean was starring in Wicked on Broadway and got to the big number at the end of act one, “Defying Gravity.” As most people know, Elphaba rises up during the whole last section and “flies.” In actuality, she’s on a cherry picker that lifts her while an enormous dress blows around her. The cast then runs onstage and points upward while she belts out the ending. Well, one night she got to the part where she rises and sings, “It’s me-e-e-e-e-e,” and she didn’t rise. The cherry picker didn’t work, but she had to finish the song. So, she just walked off the cherry picker and kept singing to the end of the song. But what about the ensemble? They’re supposed to run out and point up at her, flying above them. They decided the only way they could point up at her is if they ran out…and laid on the floor. So, the entire end of the number was Shoshana belting how she was “defying gravity” while standing 5’2″ off the ground, and the whole ensemble singing, “Look at her! She’s wicked!” while laying on the floor. And that’s theater!
Naomi Monroe, resident leader of the group, celebrates with flowers; with Nancy Goodhart, EngAGE CAO; and Tim Carpenter, CEO/Founder of EngAGE
~ Sara Debevic, Program Director
This event is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
On Thursday, June 29th, North Hollywood Senior Arts Colony held a very popular workshop in Jewelry Making, led by artist Corinne Loperfido. She passed around books on jewelry making and showed some unique pieces of her own. The enthusiastic residents made beautiful earrings and necklaces which they could later take home with them.
~ Sara Debevic, Program Director
Last week’s reception for the very first EngAGE Art Show at Metro Chinatown Senior Lofts in downtown Los Angeles was enjoyable for artists and visitors!
This exhibition is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
~Nancy Goodhart, CAO
Tune in to Experience Talks, our weekly “Radio Magazine for the Experienced Listener,” on Sundays at 5:00 PM PT on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 N. San Diego, streaming live online, and now syndicated on up to 100 Pacifica Network stations! Experience Talks is produced by the non-profit EngAGE, Inc.
Miss the show? You can always hear it as a podcast on the Listen Page of our website! You’ll also find an archive-in-progress of all of our previous shows there for you to enjoy. New shows are usually posted within 48 hours after broadcast.
Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, New York Times and international bestselling author of 17 novels, most recently, THE NOWHERE MAN. His books have been nominated for numerous awards, shortlisted twice for best novel of the year by International Thriller Writers, nominated for CWA’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, chosen as feature selections for all four major literary book clubs, honored as Book Sense Picks, nominated for the Galaxy National Book Award, and published in 30 languages.
Gregg has written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios, and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. He is also a New York Times Bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). He has published numerous academic articles on Shakespeare, taught fiction writing in the USC English Department, and guest lectured for UCLA, Harvard, and internationally. In the course of researching his thrillers, he has sneaked onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALs, swum with sharks in the Galápagos, and gone undercover into mind-control cults.
Hurwitz grew up in the Bay Area. While completing a BA from Harvard and a master’s from Trinity College, Oxford, in Shakespearean tragedy, he wrote his first novel. He was the undergraduate scholar-athlete of the year at Harvard for his pole-vaulting exploits, and played college soccer in England, where he was a Knox fellow. He now lives in L.A. where he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring himself.
This show is from our 2011 Experience Talks Archives.
Gregg talks with Tim Carpenter about his current book at that time, You’re Next.
Join us at the Pacific Avenue Arts Colony Gallery, 303 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, CA, on First Thursday! Free and open to the public!
This exhibition is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
~ Helene Weinberg, Program Director
The North Hollywood Senior Arts Colony enjoyed a lively concert last Thursday night featuring the Cool Blue Band. The nine-piece group played a set of well-known favorites that also showcased some talented vocalists. See the details below. What a great way to kick off the summer!
Vocalist Laura Freedman (wife of bandleader Richie Freedman).
Thanks to vocalist Dave Berges for providing the information about the band.
Band Members:
Alto 1 – Jeff DellaSanti
Tenor 1 – Steve Carr
Bari – Cindy Bradley
Trumpet 1 – Rex Merriweather
Trumpet 2 – Richie Freedman, Leader
Bone 1 – Kevin Bradley
Piano – Rick Hils
Bass – Jeff Takiguchi
Drums – Michael Rosen
Singers:
Laura Freedman
Lynn Keller
Dave Berges
Gina Cantamessa
Songs (vocalists in parenthesis):
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
Moten Swing
Cute
Almost Like Being in Love (Laura)
Orange Colored Sky (Laura)
How Sweet It Is (Laura)
When I Fall in Love
Sweet Georgia Brown
Somebody Stole My Gal
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Lynn)
It Had to be You (Lynn)
You Made Me Love You (Lynn)
Basically Basie
Who’s Sorry Now
Thou Swell(Dave)
Do It Again (Gina)
This Could Be the Start of Something Big (Dave & Gina)
Pot Luck
Peter Gunn
Were you in the audience or do you wish you had been!?
~ Nancy Goodhart, EngAGE CAO
This concert was supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
