Saturday, August 28, 2010

Howl! Poetry Events at Theatre 80, St. Mark's Church and Tompkins Square Park

Monday Sept 6th Theatre 80 St. Marks: 80 Saint Marks Place 4pm-6pm $10.00
SISTER SON/JI by Sonia Sanchez
In Sister Son/Ji, written by Sonia Sanchez, directed by SC2 and starring Jacqueline Gregg, poet/playwright Sanchez unflinchingly examines the paradoxical notions of liberation within in the Black Power Movement. Sonia Sanchez is a Poet. Mother. Professor. National and International lecturer on Black Culture and Literature, Women’s Liberation, Peace and Racial Justice, as well as an author of over 16 books... Sc2 is the founder & Artistic Director of BeBop Theatre Collective... Jacqueline Gregg, who has performed in countless plays, both classical and modern, also works extensively with various educational theatre organizations, bringing classical as well as contemporary theatre to schools in and around New York City. After the show we will present a Talk-Back with Ms. Sanchez. Door proceeds to benefit the Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.

Tuesday Sept 7th Theatre 80 St. Marks: 80 Saint Marks Place 8pm-10:30pm $10.00
THE BEAT LEGACY IN FILM, WORDS & MUSIC:
Ruth Du, Marc Thorman & Bob Holman
ALLEN GINSBERG, WILLIAM BURROUGHS and JOHN CAGE… their groundbreaking and experimental work in the Post War years still resonates and has influenced many of the current generation of artists living and working now in the East Village/Lower East Side. Tonight’s program celebrates that and features RUTH DU's short film 'SIX '55', an historical interpretation of the first night Allen Ginsberg recited 'Howl' in San Francisco, at the Six Gallery in 1955... 2 PIECES BY MARC THORMAN -- 'Writing through Howl (1986) For Allen Ginsberg on his Sixtieth Birthday' by John Cage, an example of Cage's 'writing through' process, which searches the poem 'Howl' sequentially for words that share letters with Allen Ginsberg's name resulting in what Cage called 'mesostic' poetry, his term derived from the word 'acrostic' and 'I Am Right, You Are Wrong,' music by Marc Thorman, text by William S. Burroughs featuring the recorded voice of Allen Ginsberg reading the text to two live improvised instrumental trios. With Marc Thorman: piano, Gregory Post: keyboards, Eric Cooper: cello, Sean Ormiston: string bass, and Patrick O'Reilly & Cory Bracken on percussion. Marc Thorman is a composer, pianist, author and teacher in New York City. His compositions include works for computer, live electronics, solo piano, voice, orchestra, and chamber ensembles, as well as mixed-media works that combine sounds, spoken word, and visual images. Marc earned a doctoral degree in music composition from the City University of New York in 2002 and has taught music theory and history in CUNY colleges citywide. In the 1990s He edited the legendary 'zine 'High Heel News'... So far as we know, BOB HOLMAN and his porkpie are the sole purveyors of the Lower East Side Poetry Hat Trick: he ran readings and was Project Coordinator at the St Mark's Poetry Project from1974-84, helped reopen and was the Original Slammaster of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe 1988-96, and founded and has been Artistic Director of the Bowery Poetry Club since 2002. For good measure, he was on the Board of A Gathering of the Tribes from 1994-2000. He teaches at Columbia and NYU, and recently helped found the Endangered Language Alliance, using poetry to illuminate the plight of vanishing languages and cultures. In his spare time he writes the poems; tonight he reads them to us. Door proceeds to benefit The Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.


Thursday Sept 9th Theatre 80 St. Marks: 80 Saint Marks Place 8pm-9:30pm $10.00
FILM: JERRY ARONSON'S 'THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ALLEN GINSBERG'
The re-release of Jerry Aronson's biopic, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, timed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of 'Howl,' suits this wonderful documentary and proves Ginsberg central to all radical artistic and political movements of the past 60 years. The feature-length film, segmented by decade, provides ample footage of Ginsberg's life; but extras added into this package, including footage of his memorial and 35 interviews with artists inspired by the visionary poet--from Beck to Lawrence Ferlinghetti--solidify Ginsberg as an American cultural icon. The film unravels Ginsberg's obsession for life and death around his mother's nervous breakdown and his father's affinity for poetry. Interviews with Ginsberg from each decade, both amongst his Beat friends like Burroughs and Huncke, and later with talk show hosts William Buckley and Dick Cavett, show the author's progression from sexual politics in the '40s and '50s to the 'politics of ecstasy' in the '60s and '70s, when he founded the Flower Power movement with Tim Leary, and later, Naropa Univeristy. Ample footage of Ginsberg's stepmother provides a sensitive outsider's opinion on how he blossomed into one of the most spontaneous minds of the century. The film transcends simple Ginsberg descriptions by framing his life with historical happenings to contextualize the author's words and actions. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg reminds the viewer that there is no better example of an artist devoted to a life of letters, activism, and idealism than the original beatnik... Following the screening, there will be a talk-back with director Jerry Aronson...Door proceeds to benefit The Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.

Friday Sept 10th Tompkins Square Park South Stage 5pm to 7pm FREE !
The HOWL ! Festival in the Park begins with the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Reading: featuring poets Anne Waldman with Ambrose Bye, John Giorno, hosted by Bob Holman with readings by Betsy Andrews, Jennifer Blowdryer, Ana Bozicevic, Guillermo Castro,  Steve Dalachinsky, Thomas Fucaloro, Daniel Gallant, Alan Gilbert, Amy King, Mariposa, Douglas A. Martin, Angelo Nikolopoulos, Amy Ouzoonian, Meghann Plunkett,  Jon Sands, Susan Scutti, Jean Ann Verlee, Michael Warr, Chavisa Woods, Advocate of Wordz, Ra ARA ya and a group reading of Allen Ginsberg’s poem HOWL.


Saturday Sept 11th Tompkins Square Park Stage 11am to 7pm FREE !
Poets in the Park : Poets Bill Kushner, Kristin Prevallet, Eileen Myles, Emanuel Xavier, and Dorothy Lasky will read throughout the day.
Tyler Burba’s band: Visit, a band greatly inspired by Allen Ginsberg's life and works, will be paying tribute to Ginsberg's lesser-known musical side by performing songs off his album First Blues as well as songs featured on the boxset Holy Soul Jelly Roll ("Airplane Blues," "Vomit Express," "Gospel Noble Truths"). The band will perform songs of William Blake's that Ginsberg tuned ("Infant Joy," "The Echoing Green," "The Sick Rose"), as well as original songs that were inspired by Ginsberg's work.
More info:  www.visit-music.net
Go to www.howlfestival.com see the calendar for complete schedule of days events.

Saturday Sept 11th and Sunday Sept 12th Theatre 80 St. Marks:
80 Saint Marks Place: 8pm to 9:30pm $10.00
All-Male OEDIPUS REX
A vibrant rendition of the ancient Greek classic, The Faux-Real Theatre Company in conjunction with Verse Theater Manhattan presents an all-male OEDIPUS REX, 'exactly as Sophocles intended it!' With a cast of 12 utilizing the performance techniques of the ancient Greeks, Faux-Real presents a 'traditional' rendition of Sophocles’ OEDIPUS REX that says 'what was considered traditional 2400 years ago is off-the-hook today.' Incorporating the colorful aesthetic of these ancient performances and utilizing a broad physical style of acting powered by live music, songs and dancing, ALL-MALE OEDIPUS REX looks beyond the 'fate versus free will' interpretations of this classic, to explore the alluring underbelly of this primal text. Their heightened approach reveals what is terrifying and vital in this most tragic of tragedies, enhancing the story’s power to roil our subconscious and awaken the heroes within. Founding Artistic Director of The Faux-Real Theatre Company, Mark Greenfield has created such shows as FUNBOX Times Square, William Shakespeare’s Haunted House and Htebcam (A Backwards Re-working of Macbeth). In addition to his work with Faux-Real, Mark was a writer for the Drew Barrymore film Whip It, and the lead actor in the Amir Naderi film VEGAS: Based on a True Story (to be released this fall). Greenfield toured the country for two-years with IMAGO the Theatre Mask Ensemble, and he played Arlecchino for five-years with the Southern Italian Commedia dell’Arte company I Giullari Di Piazza. Door proceeds to benefit The Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.
More Information: http://www.fauxreal.org

Monday, Sep 13 Theatre 80 St. Marks: 80 Saint Marks Place 8pm -10:30pm $10.00
Regie Cabico’s “that bird looks like 2 mustaches kissing”
A queer multidisciplinary exploration of love, marriage and gender, curated and hosted by spoken word pioneer and comedian Regie Cabico. With film director and monologuist Silas Howard, performance artist Heather Arc and others... Regie Cabico is a spoken word pioneer having won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and is the first openly queer and Asian American performer to take top prizes in the National Poetry Slam. Television credits include 2 seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He is the recipient of three New York Innovative Theater Award Nominations for his work in the New York Company of TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND, with an award for Best Performance Art Production. The Kenyon Review recently named him 'The Lady Gaga of Poetry' and Bust Magazine named him in the 100 Men We Love... Door proceeds to benefit The Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.

Thursday, Sep 16  Saint Marks Church In-The-Bowery,
131 East 10th Street (at Second Avenue) 8 pm - 10 pm $8.00
The Howl! Arts Project 2010 Presents: POETRY TURN ON !
Poets Thomas Fucaloro, Meghann Plunkett, Jon Sands, Jeanann Verlee, Michael Warr of The Bowery Poetry Club, poets Steve Cannon , Steve Dalachinsky, Amy Ouzoonian, Susan Scutti, Chavisa Woods, RA ARA ya of A Gathering of the Tribes, poets Daniel Gallant, Vanessa Hidary, Mariposa, Advocate of Wordz of Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and poets Julian Brolaski, Joanna Fuhrman, Paolo Javier, Dorothea Lasky of The Poetry Project come together one night only to share their poems with you... Hosted by Nathaniel Siegel to benefit HOWL! H.E.L.P.


Saturday, Sept 18th and Sunday Sept 19th  Theatre 80 St. Marks:
80 Saint Marks Place  2pm - 3:15pm $5.00
URBAN WORD: VERBAL FIRE 
Photo: Urban Word Live at The Apollo Theater
Urban Word mentor Regie Cabico and Executive Director Michael Cirelli curate and host a spoken word showcase by New York’s young poets and their mentors who have taken top prizes at Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam competition, Speak Green at Sundance Film Festival, and the National Poetry Slam. See why they are the current reigning champions on HBO’s Brave New Voices documentary... Regie Cabico is a spoken word pioneer having won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and is the first openly queer and Asian American performer to take top prizes in the National Poetry Slam. Television credits include 2 seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He is the recipient of three New York Innovative Theater Award Nominations for his work in the New York Company of TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND, with an award for Best Performance Art Production. The Kenyon Review recently named him 'The Lady Gaga of Poetry' and Bust Magazine named him in the 100 Men We Love... Michael Cirelli is the Executive Director of Urban Word NYC, a grassroots non-profit organization that provides free, safe, uncensored and ongoing writing and performance opportunities for NYC teens. He is also the director of the Annual Spoken Word & Hip-Hop Teacher & Community Leader Training Institute at the University of Wisconsin that won the 2007 North American Association of Summer Sessions 'Creative and Innovative Program Award.' He is the author of the award-winning teaching guide, 'Hip-Hop Poetry & the Classics' (Milk Mug, 2004), a standards-based curriculum that explores the relationship between hip-hop lyrics and 'classic' poems. He is currently working on two other curricula utilizing hip-hop to engage students. His collection of poetry, 'Lobster with Ol’ Dirty Bastard' (Hanging Loose, 2008) was a NY Times Book Review independent press best seller, and his next book, 'Vacations on the Black Star Line' (Hanging Loose, 2009) is forthcoming. Along with teaching writing workshops and performing across the country, he was previously the director of PEN Center West’s 'Poet in the Classroom Program.' He was featured on season 5 of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry... Founded on the belief that teenagers can and must speak for themselves, Urban Word NYC™ (UW) has been at the forefront of the youth spoken word, poetry and hip-hop movements in New York City since 1999. Door proceeds to benefit The Actors Fund for HOWL! HELP.

For further information, please visit www.howlfestival.com

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