Sex Talk (the show)

SEX TALK (the show) is an ongoing, immersive, feminist, sex-positive, sometimes cabaret, sometimes social experiment featuring parodies of some of Broadway's most beloved standards. Brooke Spitz runs the show in a unique cabaret/stand-up/immersive experience where there is much to learn ... and very little left to the imagination. PLEASE NOTE: Some material may not be suitable for all audiences.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at https://sextalk.brownpapertickets.com

Philly Circus Ban Rally

11:30 AM – 1 PM

Pittsburgh! New York City! and now NEW JERSEY! They have all passed laws to ban exotic animal acts and now it's PHILLY'S turn! Please join us to celebrate all of the victories worldwide banning animal circuses and learn how you can help to make Philly more compassionate with a similar animal circus ban. 

Holiday fun, free food, activities for adults and children to help with the ban, and free holiday gifts for everyone!

Admission is FREE

Moveable Beats Reading SeriespresentsWomen’s VoicesA poetry event featuring Philadelphia poetsTuesday, December 4, 20187 PM – 9 PMAdmission is FREE

Urgent Music Unit

Elliott Levin- reeds & words Bob Musso- guitar Mark Hennan- keys Jackson Krall- drums & percussion Bios ELLIOTT LEVIN is a Philadelphia born and based poet and musician. He studied musical and literary composition at the University of Oregon. He has done further studies with Michael Guerra of the Phila. Orchestra; Cecil Taylor, pianist, composer, poet; Claire Polin, flutist composer; and Odean Pope, saxophonist, composer. Elliott has performed throughout the world with such groups as the Cecil Taylor Ensemble, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, New Ghost, Interplay, Talking Free Be-Bop, Odean Pope's Saxophone Choir, Don Preston's Akashic Ensemble, Cee-Knowledge & The Cosmic Funk Orchestra, Alan Silva's Sound Vision Orchestra. He has collaborated in performance with many poets including Miguel Algarin, Bob Holman, Gloria Tropp, Reg. E. Gaines, John Sinclair, Butch Morris' CHORUS OF POETS, Wil Perkins, Frank Messina and David Amram. His original music and poetry can be found on the recordings: OLDUVAI MUSIC ("Or-Om-You'll-Us" 1978), and ILTAR ("Ewe-Doh-Noh-What-Fo'-Kiss" 1979), on TIWA Records. He was the associate producer, composer, and performer for the compilations: POETRY IN PHILADELPHIA (1989), and MUSIC FROM PHILADELPHIA (1990). As producer, composer, performer, in 1990 and 1992, he created two internationally broadcast features for New American Radio.In 1993 "Whose Myth...?" was used as the title and as the featured work in a multi-disciplinary event sponsored by The Watts Towers Cultural Center in LA. "Huan" is a poetic/musical duet performed and recorded at The Berlin Total Music Meeting with Cecil Taylor in 1996. "A Bleak, Stark Beauty", and "Northern Liberties" were performed and recorded for The Fire In The Valley Festival in Amherst, Mass. with The Jackson Krall Quintet (1996). THE MOTION OF EMOTION CD was released by the Elliott Levin Quartet in 1998 on CIMP, followed by A FINE INTENSITY, SOUL-ETUDE, ON IN ONONDAGA (Opportunities and Advantages). NEW GHOST: LIVE UPSTAIRS AT NICK'S was released by ESP-Disk in 2006. His first book of poetry, "does it swing?" was published in 1996 by Heat Press of LA. Elliott Levin's musical and poetic inspirations are drawn form the roots of American forms of jazz and blues (along with many other international, cultural, folk, and classical forms) to grow into the more expansive techniques of the extended compositional and improvisational directions of modern innovators such as Cecil Taylor, Sun RA, Frank Zappa, and Don Van Vliet, to cite a few sources of inspiration. For the past 25 years, he has been intimately involved in the integral interplay of the language of music, and the music of language.

ROBERT (BOB) MUSSO is a New York based guitarist, engineer and producer who has studied with Ted Dunbar, John Scofield and Tal Farlow. He has played with Ornette Coleman, Tom Waits, Rashid Ali and the improvisational group Machine Gun with Thomas Chapin and currently runs the MussoMusic.com record company. 

Voice - A Cabaret starring Deborah Crane

A cabaret performance, ranging from Sondheim to the Beatles, that celebrates the human voice and its power to enlighten, guide, heal and inspire. In 2008 Deborah set out on a journey to bring the forgotten power of voice to others. Her story urges us to trust and expand our voices which we use but seldom appreciate.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at https://deborahvoice.brownpapertickets.com/

Please join us for our 8th annualChristmas ProgramSponsored byRedeemer Tabernacle Baptist Church Youth and GuestsOn Saturday, December 8, 2018from 5:00p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Shameka Coleman-267-474-9383Tonishia Sheed-267601-3422Kenia Lucas-215-681-0940Nissa Webb -215-960-1109Deacon Anthony RobinsonMissionary LaVern AllenPastor Denise Twyman

We are asking everyone to bring a friend.Cost $5.00 for tickets for guest contact anyone of usLite Snacks/Beverages

RSVP:LaVern Allen lavern19146@yahoo.com (215-870-3917)

West Craft Fest - December 2018

Holiday gifts galore by Philly artists, crafters and makers. Check off your entire gift list with unique, locally made treasures at this West Philly favorite event.

Vendor applications are open until October 28 at westcraftfest.com.

(Formerly "Go West Craft Fest".)

Admission is FREE

Vision Driven Artists has teamed up with The Rotunda to bring resources and capacity-building workshops to self-producing artists/musicians, arts organization staff, and event curators in all disciplines.

Workshops: 6-8pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia); all workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public. Refreshments provided. No sign-up necessary.

Nonprofit, LLC, or Fiscal Sponsorship (November 12, 2018)

- Learn about the different organizational structures you can use to support your work

- Discuss the pros and cons of various structures

- Take a quiz to determine the best structure for your purposes

2019 Project Planning (December 10, 2018) 

- Identify your goals for 2019 and break them into achievable tasks

- Plot your tasks on a timeline or calendar for 2019

- Create a plan to keep yourself accountable

Fundraising Beyond Grants (January 14, 2019) 

- Learn about six different categories of fundraising (including, but not primarily, grants)

- Brainstorm more than a hundred methods for resourcing your work

- Create a simple budget that will help guide your fundraising choices

Taxes for Artists (January 28, 2019)

- Learn about which expenses you can deduct on your taxes

- Find out how and when to send out 1099s

- Get your individual questions answered

Special Guest: Christianne Kapps

Introduction to Arts Grants (February 11, 2019) 

- Demystify the language and process behind grant writing

- Learn how to find and submit grants 

- Read actual grant proposals to learn common mistakes and important proposal components 

Intermediate Grant Writing & Funder Panel (March 11, 2019) 

- Learn about local arts funding opportunities

- Receive personalized feedback on your grant proposals (bring 1 page for funders to review)

- Practice reading and scoring actual grant applications

Personal Finances for Artists (April 8, 2019) 

- Learn why and how to use budgets

- Look at sample budgets and learn how to interpret the story behind the numbers 

- Create a simplified budget tailored to your goals for 2019

Outreach & Audience Building (May 13, 2019) 

- Learn new techniques for building an audience

- Troubleshoot issues with audience development that you may have had in the past

- Identify marketing techniques to keep people showing up to your future events

Social Media Marketing (June 10, 2019) 

- Talk about the advantages of using various social media channels

- Gain new tips and tricks for using different types of social media

- Learn how to use public relations and press releases to promote your work

Crowdfunding (September 9, 2019) 

- Learn how to tell if crowdfunding is right for your project

- Discover the pros and cons of different crowdfunding platforms

- Hear from a panel of artists who have run successful crowdfunding campaigns

Creating an Artist Statement (September 23, 2019) 

- Read through actual artist statements

- Verbally share your personal mission or vision for your art with a partner

- Practice writing or editing your own statement

Setting & Measuring Goals (October 21, 2019) 

- Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

- Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

- Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

Workshops: 6-8pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia); all workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public. Refreshments provided. No sign-up necessary.

http://www.visiondrivenartists.org/

1962 Film. "All Night Long" & A Musical Set by Basquiat BluesFeaturing a musical set by BASQIAT BLUES (with AuRu Shabaka-Ra Khonsu of the Sun Ra Arkestra)

& Basil Dearden's 1962 film ALL NIGHT LONG starring Patrick McGoohan (THE PRISONER), Paul Harris (TRUCK TURNER, ACROSS 110th STREET) and Richard Attenborough (JURASSIC PARK) and featuring musicians Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck and The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra.

ALL NIGHT LONG (1962, dir. Basil Dearden, 91 min.. U.K.)

In the late 1950's director Basil Dearden broke free of the British studio system and co-founded the production company Allied Filmmakers to independently produce films too controversial for the studios. ALL NIGHT LONG, co-written by blacklisted screenwriter Paul Jarrico, is a re-imagining of Shakespeare's OTHELLO, set in a single evening in a swanky British loft outfitted for an all-night jazz jam session. Amidst the hipster speak and dope smoking is African-American actor Paul Harris as a piano playing leader of the band, celebrating the anniversary of his marriage Delia (Marti Stevens), the band's vocalist who has given up her career for her husband. Patrick McGoohan is the "Iago" of the piece, an ambitious drummer who aims to take over the band through lies and manipulation.

Edward Scaife's camerawork glides you through the party (he was a camera operator on THE THIRD MAN) in this fast-paced version of The Bard's timeless story, with a special thrill for jazz fans in seeing rare appearances by bassist/composer Charles Mingus and pianist Dave Brubeck, as well as a brilliantly interwoven score by Philip Green (partially responsible for the library music later used in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD). 

ALL NIGHT LONG will be preceded by a set of improvisational music from BASQIAT BLUES, featuring trumpeter AuRu Shabaka-Ra Khonsu, who has played in the Sun Ra Arkestra and has recorded with bassist/composer William Parker.

Admission is FREE

The Music of Ben Patterson with Arcana New Music Ensemble

Bowerbird is excited to present the music of Ben Patterson (1934-2016), performed by the Arcana New Music Ensemble at The Rotunda on Friday, December 14. Admission is free.

Patterson was a founding member of the FLUXUS movement, an international, interdisciplinary community of experimental artists that began in the early 1960s, inspired both by the Dada movement of the early twentieth century and the more recent provocations of John Cage. The Arcana Ensemble will be performing a program of works spanning the range of Patterson‘s creative activity, from traditionally scored works to alternative forms of notation that skirt the boundaries between music and conceptual art.

THE PROGRAMVariations for Double BassString MusicDuo for Voice and String InstrumentSimple OperaPondPaper PieceOvertureA Disturbing Composition

PERFORMERSTara Middleton, violin and voiceDavid Middleton, electric guitar and bassAnthony Bob, fluteJosh Machiz, bassErin Busch, celloAndy Thierauf, percussionVeronica Jurkiewicz, viola

ABOUT THE PERFORMERSThe Arcana New Music Ensemble is Bowerbird’s resident ensemble for performing interesting, beautiful, and unconventional music in interesting, beautiful, and unconventional spaces. Founded in 2016, the ensemble comprises a flexible roster of more than 30 musicians and performs regularly in Philadelphia. Past concerts have featured the music of Julius Eastman, Galina Ustvolskaya, Morton Feldman, Moondog, among others.

Admission is FREE

Event Horizon Series presentsBioMechanical ShapeShifters, Andrew Chalfen, George Wallace

BioMechanical ShapeShifters (or BioMeSS for short) is the project of Floyd Bledsoe from Ewing, New Jersey. He has been using this name for his electronic music experimentation since the early 1990s. Starting in 2010, BioMeSS began releasing music on the internet and now there are over 40 albums available on the Bandcamp website with many containing several hours of music each. Mainly experimental in nature, the music of BioMechanical ShapeShifters covers a broad spectrum stylistically. Genres from such diverse categories as harsh noise to quiet ambient drones are explored in detail. There is an aim to showcase various electronic devices and explore their capabilities and features Floyd is also one-third of The Melting Transistor and has recorded several dozen albums with them as well as many live appearances. He has also performed live on Mike Hunter’s “Music with Space” program, the Cosmic Crossings concert series and the North East Electro Music festival (NEEMfest) held in central New York state. December 2018 will mark the first BioMeSS appearance at the Event Horizon concert series.

Andrew Chalfen has led and been a member of many bands. His first band, The Wishniaks (1986-91) toured the U.S. extensively and released two albums, an ep, two singles, and tracks scattered across various compilations. A video managed to be appear twice on MTV's 120 minutes. Chalfen has since been a member of the Barnaby's, Bundtcake Vesuvius, Gimme, the Shimmers, Joey Sweeney, and Helen Back and the Str8 Razors. In 1995 he formed the Trolleyvox, which over the next 10 or so years with a a rotating cast of musicians (but mainly Beth Filla) released five albums and also did it's fare share of touring before a career in music completely stopped making sense. There is a 6th Trolleyvox album nearing completion.

Throughout Chalfen has been recording instrumental music, first on a 4-track cassette, then on various digital apparatuses. In late 2011 he and occasional collaborator Dean "Clean" Sabatino (the Dead Milkmen) finally got around to making an album. They teamed up with musician/recording engineer/author/old pal J. Robert Lennon to form I Think Like Midnight. The record, released in Fall 2014, is called Warm Seclusion Structure. The recording of a follow-up album is underway (as of Fall 2016). Additionally, Chalfen is currently working on an album with bassist Owen Biddle (the Roots, Edit Bunker, Mr. Barrington, The Trolleyvox) which they might characterize as spooky loop-based acoustic folktronica. Chalfen is also a musician and co-writer in Velvet Kirtan with Beth Filla, and has been stretching his live guitar skills and making new neural connections in the bands of Adrien Reju and Matt Keating. 

George Wallace is a schooled, veteran composer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, singer,  and recording artist, originally from Philadelphia who currently lives in Lancaster, PA. In recent years he has focused his creative passions on presenting dazzling arrays of wondrous, imaginatively crafted soundscapes, bound to delight fans of spacemusic, techno-tribal, and those with a fascination for electronic/organic hybrids.

The body of Wallace’s work, both recorded and in concert,  explores the more melodic side of what has been called ‘ambient’ music (although the term 'ambient' itself is a kind of misnomer). He also shies away from words like ‘experimental’, as he jokingly likes to say he knows exactly what he’s doing…though he quickly confesses that’s not always true! The personality of his music is evidenced by the wide range of influences he can name, some of whom are Jade Warrior, Jonn Serrie, Robert Rich, Brian Eno, Jimi Hendrix, and the film scores of Mark Isham and Thomas Newman. Notably absent here is the mention of the oft-derived Berlin School, which Wallace concedes  he is only indirectly inspired by.

Presented here is wild, psychedelic, enriched sound, simultaneously borrowing from the primal past and the celestial future, creating a memorable experience of exotic places and times well beyond this one. As ever, we are encouraged to ‘go as deep as you can go…’

Admission is FREE