graf. breakers. DJs. open mic for MCs. $3

“The future will Speak”

Call 215 530 2318 for info/sign ups

Mission Statement
“The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement was created to give young people their voice that has been suppressed through over saturation of ignorance and negativity in their surrounding communities. We live in a time where education is not cool. Where being mathematically inclined is not cool. The movement creates opportunities for the young to perform at surrounding events and The movement gives the youth a chance to relay their opinion to not only their peers but generations of all kinds as they express their critical views of societal challenges, such as drug abuse, peer pressure, domestic violence, sexuality, violence, etc. It is a verbal therapy that allows the free will all people are gifted with, but suppress as they get older in age. It provides a safe haven for not only expression, but a chance to build connections with other youth strengthening a community of free thinking young minds that will be productive in society. The PYPM is the perfect place for young people to work on their craft of literal and/or performance poetry. The movement promotes critical thinking, social skills, public speaking, mentorship, community service, positive self esteem, social change, creative writing, cultural and ethnic diversity, closure of the generation gap, individuality and originality, emotional healing, encourages communication between generations, and many more things.”

Admission is $10 ($7 for youth)

Admission is free.

THE PROGRAM
Please note that films are listed in alphabetical order by title and not in screening order.

Cusps
dir. Sara Zia Ebrahimi
Experimental Documentary, 14:35 min.
Cusps is a visual journal exploring the role of artists in gentrification by paralleling changes in the city of Philadelphia with the filmmaker’s life.

Meditation on Intelligibility
dir. bex*
Experimental, 3:00 min.
A reflection on bodies and gender – what does it mean for a body to be one way, and look or act another? Is there such a thing as “true” gender, or is gender just a construct? The piece invites the audience to consider these and other questions.

Mental Shape
dir. Amanda Whittenberger
Documentary, 28:00 min.
Mental Shape chronicles the life, career, health, and artistic work of local, Philadelphia Three-Dimensional Sculptor Robinson Fredenthal.  Created over the course of one year in partnership with 10 permanent residents of the Inglis House, a West Philadelphia residential center designed for people with mobility impairments, the film and its creators follow Robinson on a journey of exploration and discovery—of his lifelong artistic work and mission and the consequences of his progressive Parkinson’s Disease.  The documentary is ultimately not about disabilities but the abilities that thrive within Robinson and all of the Inglis House community and the population it represents.

Pardon Me, I’m Rose Dinkins
dir. Mary DeWitt
Documentary, 9:26 min.
Pardon Me, I’m Rose Dinkins is a documentary about Rose Dinkins, who has been serving a life-sentence in Pennsylvania without parole, since 1972. Mary briefly describes her relationship with Rose and discusses what she has accomplished during her three decades in prison.  She sings and tells a poignant story about her relationship with her oldest son.

El Viaje (The Journey)
dir. Nora Hiriart Litz
Documentation, 13 min.
El Viaje (The Journey) brings together the emerging Mexican community in South Philadelphia to give them a voice to tell their stories. These women, men and children communicated their similar struggles, sacrifices, triumphs, and realities as immigrants who’ve made the journey to the United States. Through open dialogue, writings, paintings, printmaking, and video, these manifestos capture the many pressing issues relating to assimilation, maintaining identity and culture of origin and the search for opportunity. The shared hopes of El Viaje and its participants is the awareness in Philadelphia of the real struggles of this rising immigrant community as well as to give voice and a space to tell their stories.

When Everybody Goes Home
dir. Dina Dashiel
Documentary, 19:00 min.
This short documentary is about the murders of black males, by other black males, and covers a 30 year span of tears. Voices often unheard have their chance to speak about the loss of sons, and the suffering their particular village continues to endure. The audience will hear from fathers, siblings, teachers, friends, and my personal bloodstains. When Everybody Goes Home is a tribute, while proving we never know how many lives are touched when one murder takes place.  It is a dedication piece to three brothers out of many.

Yo! Taxi by Termite TV Collective
dir. Deborah Rudman with Anula Shetty (LTA ’07) and Mike Kuetemeyer
Documentary, 28:40 min.
Seas of taxis block the streets and blast their horns in protest outside the headquarters of the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Yo! Taxi is a firsthand account of the real issues, struggles and circumstances on the job from members of the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania. What emerges is a portrait of Philadelphia area cab drivers as seen through their own eyes. Taxi workers of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities share stories of their lives allowing the passenger (or viewer) to get behind the driver’s seat and better understand who is at the wheel. Created as part of Termite TV’s Life Stories Project.

Following the screening, filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions about their work and discuss their artistic process in a moderated discussion.

For images, interview requests, or more information please contact Maori Karmael Holmes at (215) 545-4078, extension 14 or email maori@leeway.org.

The Moon Invaders
Belgian ska/reggae that will appeal to fans of the Slackers

The Caroloregians
Belgian skin reggae

and more TBA

We are very proud to host these 2 amazing bands visiting us from Belgium. Both bands are on the Grover ska record label (based out of Germany). They have some seriously hot tunes. Give them a listen and they will quickly become favorites.

Admission is free.

featuring
Nautical Almanac, Seijiro Murayama, ylwtr (Kurt Gottchalk + Phillip Gayle), Weyes Blood

info coming soon

Admission is free

FREE!

every Monday Night (except March 1, 15, 22, and 29)!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

Admission: Donate what you can; no one turned away

A militant dissenter abuses her hostage from the US delegation while faintly aware of the audience surrounding her. This claustrophobic scene creates a space for radical introspection, defiant theatre and tactical conversations. With only a few props, two actors, one of who is bound and gagged, and a serious commitment to DIY politics, Insurgent Theatre refutes ancient dogmas found in Homer’s Odyssey and examines the psychosexual underpinnings of empire and rebellion.

We are all Ulysses’ crewmen. We’ve got wax in our ears and a madman lashed to the mast.

The Situation: Ulysses’ Crewmen have mutinied. The captain has been captured and the moral of Homer’s tale has been reversed. All the mutineers perished but one, who is now left alone with the hero of all western civilization struggling against obsolete morality and the impossibility of ethical action.

Unplug your ears, release the madness, hear the siren’s song and let yourself be dashed against the rocks!”

The Exposition, in the form of a fictional news report:
A member of the US delegation has been kidnapped. Police are currently out in force searching for the missing delegate and his abductors. The delegate was captured at the airport en route to the new global trade negotiations. Similar actions were attempted around the world. This appears to be a decentralized global effort by a network of highly sophisticated terrorist groups. Sources say that the organizations are domestic anti-globalization groups, hoping to shut down the negotiations by kidnapping the negotiators. The possibility that they are operating- perhaps unwittingly, under command or in coordination with Islamic terrorist groups like Al Queda has not be ruled out. Only the attack on the US delegation was successful. A replacement delegate is already en route to the talks, which will commence on schedule.

The Presentation: A 60 minute two-person play, to be performed surrounded in close quarters by an intimate audience on the same floor level. A chair. A gun. A radio. Two actors.

The Response:
“Insurgent’s project is noble and high minded… it takes guts to do work like this.”
-Kurt Hartwig, SnapMilwaukee.com

“A drama animated by dark brutality [that]… creates a fascinating dynamic.” “This is theatre that strives to become more real that reality.”
-Russ Bickerstaff, Shepherd Express Online Milwaukee, WI

“One of the most inpiring DIY tours I have ever encountered. Its execution is intensly captivating and provocative. What other play features an hour of harsh interrogation and pistol-whipping followed by remarkably constructive conversation with its audience?”
-Robert Inhuman, Realicide

The Respect Sextet
performing the music of Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Eli Asher, trumpet + toys
James Hirschfeld, trombone + toys
Josh Rutner, reeds + radio + toys
Red Wierenga, piano + keyboard + accordion
Malcolm Kirby, bass
Ted Poor, drums

Formed in 2001, The Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics.  Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship, and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into “a whirling collage,” shouts Exclaim! Magazine, “that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker.” Named “one of the best and most ambitious new ensembles in jazz” by Signal to Noise, The Respect Sextet continues—after nearly a decade as a collective—to fearlessly push the envelope.

Respect’s newest release, Sirius Respect: The Respect Sextet play the music of Sun Ra & Stockhausen, (Mode/Avant, 2009), was called “one of the most compelling recordings of the year” by the Wall Street Journal and filed under “Love It” in Newsweek Magazine (“an out-of-this-world pairing”). Sirius Respect brings together the music of Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen and views them through Respect-colored glasses. Pieces ranging from Stockhausen’s “Tierkreis” (inspired by the Zodiac) to Sun Ra’s “Saturn” are juxtaposed, layered, deconstructed and re-assembled. “It’s neither jazz nor classical,” says John Schaefer of WNYC’s Soundcheck, “but something cosmically both.”

Through its eclecticism, humor, devotion to improvisation, predilection towards swing, and its use of toys and “little instruments,” The Respect Sextet has drawn comparisons both to New Dutch Swing and the AACM. Many dialectics are at work (and play) in Respect’s world, in which the serious, heady, and intellectual mingle with the light, comic, and absurd, where compositions alternate and mesh with improvisations, and where tight ensemble work coexists with loose, empathic interplay.

Admission is FREE

Wednesdays March 3rd, April 7th, May 5th, + Friday; June 4th, 2010

This event series will present a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes, poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, performance~artistry & visual projections

Sign up for the open stage/open mic to close the night!

Each  event will Highlight the work of Resident Performance Artist Gabrielle de Burke {Casella}/”PlumDragoness
featuring guest collaborators-the ELEMENTS:
Djo Fortunado, Elliott Levin, Andres Cisneros, Lady Mocean, Jake Klein (Histronica)
Visual Projections by Peter Brodhead & VJ Kevlar
Produced Beat Infusions & Live Instrumental Accompaniment TBA!

“PlumDragoness & The ELEMENTS” bring you dances with words, combine beats under rhymes, theatrical performances w/ a background of Visuals & Live instru~mental accompaniment

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS:

MARCH 3rd : Nat’l Womyn’s Herstory Month

Barbara Zanelli
A visual artist, for this event she create her work in the moment w/ live painting through the duration of performances…

Lady Mocean
Urban tribal beats infused with abstract poetics & ambient melodics…

Bonnie MacAllister
an artist, author, and educator. Bonnie is a 2009 Fulbright-Hays awardee to Ethiopia, a 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominee and five time slam poetry champion in the United States and France.  Publication credits include Black Robert Journal, Paper Tiger Media, Dead Drunk Dublin and Other Imaginal Spaces, and nth Position.  MacAllister has most recently exhibited at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC, Montevideo, Uruguay.  Bonnie is an active member of the Plastic Club and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art and fundraises for Girls Gotta Run Foundation which sponsors Ethiopian girls’ running teams.  Bonnie teaches French and British Literature at the new Arise Academy Charter High School for foster children in Center City.  She is the webmaster for the Fulbright-Hays Ethiopia outreach website which offers teacher resources on Ethiopia.

Shara Dae
a  Philadelphian poet, musician, songwriter, producer and advocate has worked with local artists such as Taylor McFerrin, the Disco Biscuits, the Side Show Prophets, Ryat and many more. She is now recording her debut album, If Only and her sound has been described as an acoustic and soulful testimony of a woman’s right to love. With levity, grace and a refreshing take on honesty Shara Dae uses her music as an urban commentary on love and life.

Yolanda Wisher
Born in Germantown and raised in North Wales, Pennsylvania, Yolanda received a B.A. in English/Black Studies from Lafayette College and a M.A. in Creative Writing/Poetry from Temple University.  In 1999, she was named the first poet laureate of Montgomery County.  Her work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, Meridians, Fence, nocturnes, and Chain as well as the anthologies Gathering Ground, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, The Fence Reader and Lavanderia.  A Cave Canem fellow, Wisher teaches English at Germantown Friends School and chairs the Germantown Poetry Festival.  She is also the host of um®πvme (you-move-me), a poetry radio show on www.gtownradio.com.

APRIL 7th: Nat’l Poet-tree Month!
This event dedicates the stage to poets/poetry in & around West Philly! A few individual members representing different community groups involved with poetry in Philadelphia have been invited to bless the mic with word power; performers TBA!}

MAY 5TH: Beltane Fire Festivities meet Cinco De Mayo!

Industrial Death & PANadelphia (Philadelphia Art Network)
Here to present original beats & rhymes for the conscious freaks in a Myan Calendar minded  & grinded music w/ live painting art party atmosphere (audience participation encouraged/paint brushes & markers provided)!

Philly Fire Arts/PEXie collective
Performing a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks; featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Fire-eating/breathing, belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics, gymnastics poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, & theatrics are lit by custom fire sculptures.
An all-female multi-dimensional performance troupe combining dance, spoken word, various forms of yoga/martial arts, hula hooping and fire arts to present a dangerously exciting and sensual show. Our performance is comprised of a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Our usual show features fire-eating and fire-breathing, as well as belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics and gymnastics; embracing the arts through poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, sound and theatrics lit by custom fire sculptures (scenes including fire will be performed outside, permit pending).

FRIDAY, JUNE  4TH: Friends of PlumDragoness Project
This 2nd annual fundraiser for the Friends of PlumDragoness Projects will feature performances & silent auction items from local businesses (including antiques, estate jewelry, artists goods/services & handmade art) with refreshments provided by the Continental Café, DeBruno Brothers, Fresh Grocer & Whole Foods!

DJ Orbicles (Gaian Mind Collective)–spinning beats throughout the night.
When she’s not traveling the world collecting music and experiences, she’s home learning how to best share them with you. Melanie’s love of electronica started back in 1992, when she first became exposed to such seminal acts as The Orb, Aphex Twin, Moby, and other early pioneers of the nascent dance music scene. Eschewing traditional limits of what constitutes “chillout” material, Melanie’s djing style encompasses a broad cross section of musical styles, combining elements of trip-hop, dub, house, drum n’ bass, IDM, ambient, techno, and trance, with worldbeat and ethnic influences.

All events are free; donations are encouraged.

Wednesdays March 3rd, April 7th, May 5th, + Friday; June 4th, 2010

This event series will present a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes, poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, performance~artistry & visual projections

Sign up for the open stage/open mic to close the night!

Each  event will Highlight the work of Resident Performance Artist Gabrielle de Burke {Casella}/”PlumDragoness
featuring guest collaborators-the ELEMENTS:
Djo Fortunado, Elliott Levin, Andres Cisneros, Lady Mocean, Jake Klein (Histronica)
Visual Projections by Peter Brodhead & VJ Kevlar
Produced Beat Infusions & Live Instrumental Accompaniment TBA!

“PlumDragoness & The ELEMENTS” bring you dances with words, combine beats under rhymes, theatrical performances w/ a background of Visuals & Live instru~mental accompaniment

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS:

MARCH 3rd : Nat’l Womyn’s Herstory Month

Barbara Zanelli
A visual artist, for this event she create her work in the moment w/ live painting through the duration of performances…

Lady Mocean
Urban tribal beats infused with abstract poetics & ambient melodics…

Bonnie MacAllister
an artist, author, and educator. Bonnie is a 2009 Fulbright-Hays awardee to Ethiopia, a 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominee and five time slam poetry champion in the United States and France.  Publication credits include Black Robert Journal, Paper Tiger Media, Dead Drunk Dublin and Other Imaginal Spaces, and nth Position.  MacAllister has most recently exhibited at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC, Montevideo, Uruguay.  Bonnie is an active member of the Plastic Club and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art and fundraises for Girls Gotta Run Foundation which sponsors Ethiopian girls’ running teams.  Bonnie teaches French and British Literature at the new Arise Academy Charter High School for foster children in Center City.  She is the webmaster for the Fulbright-Hays Ethiopia outreach website which offers teacher resources on Ethiopia.

Shara Dae
a  Philadelphian poet, musician, songwriter, producer and advocate has worked with local artists such as Taylor McFerrin, the Disco Biscuits, the Side Show Prophets, Ryat and many more. She is now recording her debut album, If Only and her sound has been described as an acoustic and soulful testimony of a woman’s right to love. With levity, grace and a refreshing take on honesty Shara Dae uses her music as an urban commentary on love and life.

Yolanda Wisher
Born in Germantown and raised in North Wales, Pennsylvania, Yolanda received a B.A. in English/Black Studies from Lafayette College and a M.A. in Creative Writing/Poetry from Temple University.  In 1999, she was named the first poet laureate of Montgomery County.  Her work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, Meridians, Fence, nocturnes, and Chain as well as the anthologies Gathering Ground, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, The Fence Reader and Lavanderia.  A Cave Canem fellow, Wisher teaches English at Germantown Friends School and chairs the Germantown Poetry Festival.  She is also the host of um®πvme (you-move-me), a poetry radio show on www.gtownradio.com.

APRIL 7th: Nat’l Poet-tree Month!
This event dedicates the stage to poets/poetry in & around West Philly! A few individual members representing different community groups involved with poetry in Philadelphia have been invited to bless the mic with word power; performers TBA!}

MAY 5TH: Beltane Fire Festivities meet Cinco De Mayo!

Industrial Death & PANadelphia (Philadelphia Art Network)
Here to present original beats & rhymes for the conscious freaks in a Mayan Calendar minded  & grinded music w/ live painting art party atmosphere (audience participation encouraged/paint brushes & markers provided)!

Philly Fire Arts/PEXie collective
Performing a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks; featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Fire-eating/breathing, belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics, gymnastics poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, & theatrics are lit by custom fire sculptures.
An all-female multi-dimensional performance troupe combining dance, spoken word, various forms of yoga/martial arts, hula hooping and fire arts to present a dangerously exciting and sensual show. Our performance is comprised of a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Our usual show features fire-eating and fire-breathing, as well as belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics and gymnastics; embracing the arts through poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, sound and theatrics lit by custom fire sculptures (scenes including fire will be performed outside, permit pending).

FRIDAY, JUNE  4TH: Friends of PlumDragoness Project
This 2nd annual fundraiser for the Friends of PlumDragoness Projects will feature performances & silent auction items from local businesses (including antiques, estate jewelry, artists goods/services & handmade art) with refreshments provided by the Continental Café, DeBruno Brothers, Fresh Grocer & Whole Foods!

DJ Orbicles (Gaian Mind Collective)–spinning beats throughout the night.
When she’s not traveling the world collecting music and experiences, she’s home learning how to best share them with you. Melanie’s love of electronica started back in 1992, when she first became exposed to such seminal acts as The Orb, Aphex Twin, Moby, and other early pioneers of the nascent dance music scene. Eschewing traditional limits of what constitutes “chillout” material, Melanie’s djing style encompasses a broad cross section of musical styles, combining elements of trip-hop, dub, house, drum n’ bass, IDM, ambient, techno, and trance, with worldbeat and ethnic influences.

All events are free; donations are encouraged.

Wednesdays March 3rd, April 8th, May 5th, + Friday; June 4th, 2010

This event series will present a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes, poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, performance~artistry & visual projections

Sign up for the open stage/open mic to close the night!

Each  event will Highlight the work of Resident Performance Artist Gabrielle de Burke {Casella}/”PlumDragoness
featuring guest collaborators-the ELEMENTS:
Djo Fortunado, Elliott Levin, Andres Cisneros, Lady Mocean, Jake Klein (Histronica)
Visual Projections by Peter Brodhead & VJ Kevlar
Produced Beat Infusions & Live Instrumental Accompaniment TBA!

“PlumDragoness & The ELEMENTS” bring you dances with words, combine beats under rhymes, theatrical performances w/ a background of Visuals & Live instru~mental accompaniment

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS:

MARCH 3rd : Nat’l Womyn’s Herstory Month

Barbara Zanelli
A visual artist, for this event she create her work in the moment w/ live painting through the duration of performances…

Lady Mocean
Urban tribal beats infused with abstract poetics & ambient melodics…

Bonnie MacAllister
an artist, author, and educator. Bonnie is a 2009 Fulbright-Hays awardee to Ethiopia, a 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominee and five time slam poetry champion in the United States and France.  Publication credits include Black Robert Journal, Paper Tiger Media, Dead Drunk Dublin and Other Imaginal Spaces, and nth Position.  MacAllister has most recently exhibited at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC, Montevideo, Uruguay.  Bonnie is an active member of the Plastic Club and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art and fundraises for Girls Gotta Run Foundation which sponsors Ethiopian girls’ running teams.  Bonnie teaches French and British Literature at the new Arise Academy Charter High School for foster children in Center City.  She is the webmaster for the Fulbright-Hays Ethiopia outreach website which offers teacher resources on Ethiopia.

Shara Dae
a  Philadelphian poet, musician, songwriter, producer and advocate has worked with local artists such as Taylor McFerrin, the Disco Biscuits, the Side Show Prophets, Ryat and many more. She is now recording her debut album, If Only and her sound has been described as an acoustic and soulful testimony of a woman’s right to love. With levity, grace and a refreshing take on honesty Shara Dae uses her music as an urban commentary on love and life.

Yolanda Wisher
Born in Germantown and raised in North Wales, Pennsylvania, Yolanda received a B.A. in English/Black Studies from Lafayette College and a M.A. in Creative Writing/Poetry from Temple University.  In 1999, she was named the first poet laureate of Montgomery County.  Her work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, Meridians, Fence, nocturnes, and Chain as well as the anthologies Gathering Ground, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, The Fence Reader and Lavanderia.  A Cave Canem fellow, Wisher teaches English at Germantown Friends School and chairs the Germantown Poetry Festival.  She is also the host of um®πvme (you-move-me), a poetry radio show on www.gtownradio.com.
APRIL 7th: Nat’l Poet-tree Month!
This event dedicates the stage to poets/poetry in & around West Philly! A few individual members representing different community groups involved with poetry in Philadelphia have been invited to bless the mic with word power; performers TBA!}

MAY 5TH: Beltane Fire Festivities meet Cinco De Mayo!

Industrial Death & PANadelphia (Philadelphia Art Network)
Here to present original beats & rhymes for the conscious freaks in a Myan Calendar minded  & grinded music w/ live painting art party atmosphere (audience participation encouraged/paint brushes & markers provided)!

Philly Fire Arts/PEXie collective
Performing a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks; featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Fire-eating/breathing, belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics, gymnastics poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, & theatrics are lit by custom fire sculptures.
An all-female multi-dimensional performance troupe combining dance, spoken word, various forms of yoga/martial arts, hula hooping and fire arts to present a dangerously exciting and sensual show. Our performance is comprised of a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Our usual show features fire-eating and fire-breathing, as well as belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics and gymnastics; embracing the arts through poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, sound and theatrics lit by custom fire sculptures (scenes including fire will be performed outside, permit pending).

FRIDAY, JUNE  4TH: Friends of PlumDragoness Project
This 2nd annual fundraiser for the Friends of PlumDragoness Projects will feature performances & silent auction items from local businesses (including antiques, estate jewelry, artists goods/services & handmade art) with refreshments provided by the Continental Café, DeBruno Brothers, Fresh Grocer & Whole Foods!

DJ Orbicles (Gaian Mind Collective)–spinning beats throughout the night.
When she’s not traveling the world collecting music and experiences, she’s home learning how to best share them with you. Melanie’s love of electronica started back in 1992, when she first became exposed to such seminal acts as The Orb, Aphex Twin, Moby, and other early pioneers of the nascent dance music scene. Eschewing traditional limits of what constitutes “chillout” material, Melanie’s djing style encompasses a broad cross section of musical styles, combining elements of trip-hop, dub, house, drum n’ bass, IDM, ambient, techno, and trance, with worldbeat and ethnic influences.

All events are free; donations are encouraged.

Wednesdays March 3rd, April 7th, May 5th, + Friday; June 4th, 2010

This event series will present a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes, poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, performance~artistry & visual projections

Sign up for the open stage/open mic to close the night!

Each  event will Highlight the work of Resident Performance Artist Gabrielle de Burke {Casella}/”PlumDragoness
featuring guest collaborators-the ELEMENTS:
Djo Fortunado, Elliott Levin, Andres Cisneros, Lady Mocean, Jake Klein (Histronica)
Visual Projections by Peter Brodhead & VJ Kevlar
Produced Beat Infusions & Live Instrumental Accompaniment TBA!

“PlumDragoness & The ELEMENTS” bring you dances with words, combine beats under rhymes, theatrical performances w/ a background of Visuals & Live instru~mental accompaniment

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS:

MARCH 3rd : Nat’l Womyn’s Herstory Month

Barbara Zanelli
A visual artist, for this event she create her work in the moment w/ live painting through the duration of performances…

Lady Mocean
Urban tribal beats infused with abstract poetics & ambient melodics…

Bonnie MacAllister
an artist, author, and educator. Bonnie is a 2009 Fulbright-Hays awardee to Ethiopia, a 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominee and five time slam poetry champion in the United States and France.  Publication credits include Black Robert Journal, Paper Tiger Media, Dead Drunk Dublin and Other Imaginal Spaces, and nth Position.  MacAllister has most recently exhibited at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC, Montevideo, Uruguay.  Bonnie is an active member of the Plastic Club and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art and fundraises for Girls Gotta Run Foundation which sponsors Ethiopian girls’ running teams.  Bonnie teaches French and British Literature at the new Arise Academy Charter High School for foster children in Center City.  She is the webmaster for the Fulbright-Hays Ethiopia outreach website which offers teacher resources on Ethiopia.

Shara Dae
a  Philadelphian poet, musician, songwriter, producer and advocate has worked with local artists such as Taylor McFerrin, the Disco Biscuits, the Side Show Prophets, Ryat and many more. She is now recording her debut album, If Only and her sound has been described as an acoustic and soulful testimony of a woman’s right to love. With levity, grace and a refreshing take on honesty Shara Dae uses her music as an urban commentary on love and life.

Yolanda Wisher
Born in Germantown and raised in North Wales, Pennsylvania, Yolanda received a B.A. in English/Black Studies from Lafayette College and a M.A. in Creative Writing/Poetry from Temple University.  In 1999, she was named the first poet laureate of Montgomery County.  Her work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, Meridians, Fence, nocturnes, and Chain as well as the anthologies Gathering Ground, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, The Fence Reader and Lavanderia.  A Cave Canem fellow, Wisher teaches English at Germantown Friends School and chairs the Germantown Poetry Festival.  She is also the host of um®πvme (you-move-me), a poetry radio show on www.gtownradio.com.

APRIL 7th: Nat’l Poet-tree Month!
This event dedicates the stage to poets/poetry in & around West Philly! A few individual members representing different community groups involved with poetry in Philadelphia have been invited to bless the mic with word power; performers TBA!}

MAY 5TH: Beltane Fire Festivities meet Cinco De Mayo!

Industrial Death & PANadelphia (Philadelphia Art Network)
Here to present original beats & rhymes for the conscious freaks in a Myan Calendar minded  & grinded music w/ live painting art party atmosphere (audience participation encouraged/paint brushes & markers provided)!

Philly Fire Arts/PEXie collective
Performing a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks; featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Fire-eating/breathing, belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics, gymnastics poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, & theatrics are lit by custom fire sculptures.
An all-female multi-dimensional performance troupe combining dance, spoken word, various forms of yoga/martial arts, hula hooping and fire arts to present a dangerously exciting and sensual show. Our performance is comprised of a series of vignettes set to carefully selected soundtracks featuring everything from world beat-music to house-hip-hop-opera! Our usual show features fire-eating and fire-breathing, as well as belly dancing, ballet, acrobatics and gymnastics; embracing the arts through poetry & movement, object manipulation, video, sound and theatrics lit by custom fire sculptures (scenes including fire will be performed outside, permit pending).

FRIDAY, JUNE  4TH: Friends of PlumDragoness Project
This 2nd annual fundraiser for the Friends of PlumDragoness Projects will feature performances & silent auction items from local businesses (including antiques, estate jewelry, artists goods/services & handmade art) with refreshments provided by the Continental Café, DeBruno Brothers, Fresh Grocer & Whole Foods!

DJ Orbicles (Gaian Mind Collective)–spinning beats throughout the night.
When she’s not traveling the world collecting music and experiences, she’s home learning how to best share them with you. Melanie’s love of electronica started back in 1992, when she first became exposed to such seminal acts as The Orb, Aphex Twin, Moby, and other early pioneers of the nascent dance music scene. Eschewing traditional limits of what constitutes “chillout” material, Melanie’s djing style encompasses a broad cross section of musical styles, combining elements of trip-hop, dub, house, drum n’ bass, IDM, ambient, techno, and trance, with worldbeat and ethnic influences.

All events are free; donations are encouraged.

The day before his senior year as a playwright student at UNC, Joe Pug sat down for a cup of coffee and had the clearest thought of his life: “I am profoundly unhappy here.” He then packed up his belongings and drove to Chicago, working as a carpenter by day and practicing his guitar at night. Using ideas originally slated for a play he was writing, he began creating the sublime lyrical masterpiece that would become the Nation of Heat EP. With his bare-boned sincerity dripping off every note he sings, he is fast becoming one of the most respected songwriters of his generation. Audiences were captured by performances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and the Philadelphia and Newport Folk Festivals over the summer of 2009. The music of Philly’s own Birdie Busch is natural. There isn’t pretense, nothing forced or processed – just delicate melodies and deceptively simple lyrics that resonate upon further discovery. Her 2005 recording, “The Ways We Try”, has all the warmth, atmosphere, open emotion and rosy feeling in songs that leave her audiences feeling a little less troubled and a little more comforted.

Free for PFS Members
$10 for Non-Members (Non-Members click here to purchase tix)

Burning Bridget Cleary took form on St. Patrick’s Day in 2006 when Genevieve Gillespie joined forces with father/daughter duo, Lou and Rose Baldino. The young ladies, both college students, front the band with their fiery fiddles, bringing a lively flair of youthful intensity and exuberance to traditional tunes. Lou‘s guitar bestows the dynamic rhythm and bass end, tastefully embellished with distinctive chording. Weaving in some choice vocal numbers and building the energy with some spirited stepdancing, Burning Bridget Cleary sparks a blaze of Celtic sound that is perceived way beyond the sum of its parts! Their debut CD, Catharsis, was released in September 2006 and was followed by Everything is Alright, released in November 2008.

Abuse of power is prevalent in our schools, at work, at home, in our house of worship, on the street. Maybe you have seen it, maybe you have done it, or maybe you are a victim, but hopefully you are fed up with it.
That’s why we would like to give you the opportunity to participate in an event around the theme “abuse.” We are looking for artists, members of all communities, anyone who wants to contribute or help out. The culminating event will take place at The Rotunda in April. The plan is to present a series of short pieces and maybe create a joint segment.

This Saturday, March 6, 4:00 PM, we invite those who are interested, to join us to share ideas for performances and/or activities. Tea and snacks will be served.

Join our Facebook group “constant revolution,” for updates.

What we want to do:
Organize an event around the theme of abuse. Invite artists and the general public to contribute. No performance or artistic experienced needed.

Why do we want to do this:
There is one revolution that will never end. Inside our own families, businesses and schools, we often see abuse of power resulting in physical or mental traumas.

What do we want to establish:
Bring the issues some attention, support victims, prevention.

What we expect:
From participants we expect a contribution in the form of exhibition, performance or a combination. It’s not an open mic night, there will be rehearsals and we formulate standards to which the contribution needs to comply. Participants are asked to work through their stories of abuse, whether they are their own personal stories or the stories of others who’ve inspired them.

What we offer:
We have experience, time, and space available; we can help with fundraising if needed.

What do you have to do:
Come to the informational meeting on March 6, 4:00 PM!

The Orphan Tree is a ritualistic play that tells the story of 5 individuals who, having been rejected by their society, find themselves in a space between worlds. Through a communion with the Sacred Feminine they are transformed and made whole.

Admission is FREE

Frontline Dads presents its 2010 Black History Celebration: “The Freedom Gathering”, a presentation of art, music, song, poetry and political thought.

The Freedom Gathering is a communal celebration of the 10th year anniversary of the book, “Time is of The Essence”, a self-published anthology of poetry, prose and essays written by 25 incarcerated men who lend their voices to raise awareness on socio/political issues. The Freedom Gathering will feature readings from some of the authors of the book, “Time is Of The Essence”, and a panel discussion will follow.

The “Freedom Gathering” will inspire, uplift, inform and mobilize the public on the issue of incarceration and re-entry via a community talkback/town hall meeting. This community talkback will also highlight the success stories of formerly incarcerated men who have successfully transitioned back into the community. The Freedom Gathering will also honor “Unsung Heroes” of the community for their contributions, sacrifices and inspiration. Additionally, an art display and silent auction will feature the works of local visual artists. And, an open mic will follow.

The event is FREE and open to the public.  All ages, genders, socio/economic backgrounds, political affiliations, and religions are welcome.

If you have a loved one, friend, or family member who is currently incarcerated, or if you or someone you know has been affected by incarceration, please join us in this effort to enlighten and inform the public on this issue. For questions and/or additional information, please contact: Reuben Jones @ Frontlinedads@aol.com

Napoleon (1927 / 235 minutes)  MFM (Jon Allen, David Stanley Aponte, Robert Cozzolino, Rick Henderson, K. Malcolm Richards & Kevin Riley) perform live accompaniment for Abel Gance’s silent epic.

Admission is FREE

*New start date for 7-week percussion workshop series!*

Due to inclement weather this weekend, the new start date for the Arab Percussion Workshops will be February 13th and will run until March 27th

This winter, Al-Bustan is offering percussion workshops taught by Hafez El Ali Kotain* in addition to the Arab Music Ensemble led by Hanna Khoury. Depending on number of sign-ups, there are opportunities for youth and adults.

Arab Percussion Instruction for Youth
Workshops are held Saturday afternoons at The Rotunda

Age: Beginners/Intermediate: 3rd-12th graders & college students

Date: February 6 – March 20, 2010 (seven Saturdays)

Time: 1-2 PM or 2-3 PM, depending on number of students and skill level

Fee: $105 ($15/workshop, limited scholarships available for youth, inquire for application)

To register, click HERE, or call 267-809-3668.

This program is funded in part by grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

———————————————————————-

Arab Percussion Instruction for Adults
Workshops are held Saturday afternoons at The Rotunda

Age: Adults, Beginners & Intermediate

Date: February 6 – March 20, 2010 (seven Saturdays)

Time: 2-3 PM or 3-4 PM

Fee: $140 ($20/workshop)

To register, click HERE, or call 267-809-3668.

*Hafez El Ali Kotain is an accomplished master percussionist, fluent in both Arab and Latin rhythms. Born in Venezuela of Syrian heritage, he grew up in Syria until the age of 16. He began playing the doumbek at the age of seven, made his first stage performance at age nine , and went on to study with master Syrian percussionist Hady Jazan, winning the regional percussion competitions in Syria for five consecutive years. In Venezuela he studied drumming at the TMV Institute for Music in Valencia, where he also taught a percussion style blending Arab and Latino music. Since his residency in Philadelphia, he continues playing Arab percussion, singing maqam, and performing with a variety of musicians. Hafez has taught percussion with Al-Bustan the past three years.

(PT.1) - COMMUNITY ARTS WORKSHOP
This is an opportunity for independent artists and community members to cultivate their artistries in a formal and public fashion. The hope in this engagement is to inspire renewed interest in indepdent artistry and the creative local economy among Philadelphia communties as well as renewed interest in developing our latent talents in the presence of witnesses.

Time: 4:30pm - 6:30pm
(Workshops begin on time. Please arrive before 4pm)

featuring:

*Writing/Performance
-Master Teacher Ka’Li Ra &
Int’l Song Writer-Karyne Nguyen

*Painting/Charcoal
-Renowned Community Artist - John J. Abner & Ibrahima Faye

*Dance/Movement
-Medusa Al-Rie Sankofa, Copaeria

*Theater/Drama
-Chris “Feliece” Davis

Admission: Donate what you can . Suggested Donation $5 - $10; * no one will be turned away because of a lack of funds

Space is limited (40 persons max)
Register Now at http://www.newmediainitiative.com/multimedia-arts-extravaganza-registration-feb-27th.html

and then..
MULTIMEDIA ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA (PT.2) - Multimedia Arts Show
Have you gone to several performances to see that it is all music or all poetry or all dance and not the integration of all those different art forms? Well those days are over! NMI is hosting a Multimedia Arts Show Feb. 27th at 7:30PM that will feature film screenings, live bands, poetry, theater, dance, hip hop, visual arts and more!

WELCOME TO A NEW ERA OF ENTERTAINMENT
Time: 7:30pm - 10pm
(Show begin on time. Please arrive before 7:30pm)

Performances by:
NXG: Next Generation
Complex Simplicity
Shayna SheNess Israel
Robert Shabazz Latin Jazz Band
Dance Troupe
Charm/Strange Experience
& More!!!

Film/Video Screenings by: Jus Flowers (Positions) and NXG (Mujerista (Pro-Peace)

Admission: Donate what you can . Suggested Donation $7 - $10; * no one will be turned away because of a lack of funds *

(PT.1) - COMMUNITY ARTS WORKSHOP
This is an opportunity for independent artists and community members to cultivate their artistries in a formal and public fashion. The hope in this engagement is to inspire renewed interest in indepdent artistry and the creative local economy among Philadelphia communties as well as renewed interest in developing our latent talents in the presence of witnesses.

Time: 4:30pm - 6:30pm
(Workshops begin on time. Please arrive before 4pm)

featuring:

*Writing/Performance
-Master Teacher Ka’Li Ra &
Int’l Song Writer-Karyne Nguyen

*Painting/Charcoal
-Renowned Community Artist - John J. Abner & Ibrahima Faye

*Dance/Movement
-Medusa Al-Rie Sankofa, Copaeria

*Theater/Drama
-Chris “Feliece” Davis

Admission: Donate what you can . Suggested Donation $5 - $10; * no one will be turned away because of a lack of funds

Space is limited (40 persons max)
Register Now at http://www.newmediainitiative.com/multimedia-arts-extravaganza-registration-feb-27th.html

and then..
MULTIMEDIA ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA (PT.2) - Multimedia Arts Show
Have you gone to several performances to see that it is all music or all poetry or all dance and not the integration of all those different art forms? Well those days are over! NMI is hosting a Multimedia Arts Show Feb. 27th at 7:30PM that will feature film screenings, live bands, poetry, theater, dance, hip hop, visual arts and more!

WELCOME TO A NEW ERA OF ENTERTAINMENT
Time: 7:30pm - 10pm
(Show begin on time. Please arrive before 7:30pm)

Performances by:
NXG: Next Generation
Complex Simplicity
Shayna SheNess Israel
Robert Shabazz Latin Jazz Band
Dance Troupe
Charm/Strange Experience
& More!!!

Film/Video Screenings by: Jus Flowers (Positions) and NXG (Mujerista (Pro-Peace)

Admission: Donate what you can . Suggested Donation $7 - $10; * no one will be turned away because of a lack of funds *

featuring

THUS (Neil Feather and John Berndt)
Woody Sellender
Little Ocean
Tristan Dahn

Admission is FREE

A night of song and spoken word

Admission: $3, 2 for $5

*If you would like to participate in the open mic, please contact Janee Moses at
jmoses@sas.upenn.edu.

TESLA NIGHTS 2010

Live Music Fundraiser
$5 Admission

Featuring:
D.J. EW
&
Pool Of Thorns

Plus:
Visuals by Chris Connor
&
A Live Tesla Coil Demonstration by David Rosignoli

MadKo Concerts
presents

Writtenhouse

Slick Mantra

Scanz & Ground Up w/ special guest DJ Cliff w/ Hypeman Johnson

Admission is $7.

Featuring:

JUST ADDED: Soozy Pooch Crew (A fun, educational band for kids. with dogs in it!)
7pm Sharp!

* Victoria & The Spaeth Cadets
* Dragoness - Poetry & Dance piece
* Heddie Gonzalez - The Baptist Preachers
* Chrissy Tashian - Solo Performance
* Dolly Trolly
* Kristyn “Blue” Simmons
* A surprise return band, very colorful & exciting dance band!

Admission is FREE but donations are encouraged.

About the Performers

Dragoness
A native of West Philadelphia, Gabrielle is a multi-talented thespian, dancer & poetess who has been involved with theater since childhood. Throughout her early years, she studied various visual & performing art mediums to cultivate her expressive theatrical personality while earning her BA in Theater from Temple University, with an exploratory concentration in Afro-Modern Dance, World Music & Jazz Voice. From an early age Gabrielle had a profound interest in the performing arts that involved her in cross-cultural ventures that bridge the gaps between traditional sacred/secular dance, theatre and present day urban expressions of life. Her background in costume production, dance, voice, stage/film acting, poetry as performance & martial/internal arts techniques make a significant contribution to her creation of innovative performance art. She is well-known for her performances, choreographic style & healing arts instruction throughout the Philadelphia area & abroad. Her work has been featured in local, national & international venues. Gabrielle continues her commitment to the west Philadelphia community by organizing a free ongoing performance series going into its 3rd season at the Rotunda for Foundation Arts called “Poet-tree In Motion.” She also formed the musical group known as “Plum Dragoness & the Elements,” soon to be releasing an album of spoken word/poetry accompanied by world music compositions inspired by their collaborations called “Quests of a Poetess.”

The Baptist Preachers
a Philadelphia based band of mixed race, gender and musical styles ranging from Nu-Wav to Gospel. On vox: Sheena Denise Clay, Drums: Quirky Tom, Guitars: John Cecil Price, Keys: Matt Stevenson, Bass: Heddie Gonzalez

Dolly Trolly
with Tara Lynne Mallon! Rockabilly Experimental Pop Rock that will melt in your mouth & make you dance..

Chrissy Tashian
solo performance - of Dangerous Ponies, The Naughty, Naughty Nurses and The B team fame

The Spaeth Cadets
Somewhere between Ricki Lee Jones, and Aimee Mann, with a hint of Laura Nyro, lies a young woman, mature beyond her years. Victoria Spaeth is remarkably comfortable in her own skin- captivating as a performer and a musician. She’s got miles of talent and a voice you will hear a lot more as she gains wider acclaim.” - John Cecil Price, Philadelphia Booking Agent
In their self-described style of Urban Folk, Victoria Spaeth and the Spaeth Cadets specialize in eclectic three-part harmonies and soul-searching lyrics. Combining elements of Folk Rock, Jazz, Funk, Blues, Classical Guitar, and Liberian percussion, The Spaeth Cadets create a truly unique fusion that’s taking the Philadelphia music scene by storm.

Kristyn “Blue” Simmons
a singer, songwriter, guitarist & self-published author. She plays with various musicians, however, her “style” is generally a unique mix of rock, soul, pop and hip-hop, oftentimes with catchy hooks and lyrics that are as visceral as the sounds that emanate from her being. Blue’s passion for Love and life is a thread that helps weave this all together and makes for fantastic live performances.

Admission is FREE but donations are encouraged.

local Gospel music and dance from Kenny Sykes and Cornerstone Christian Academy Voices in Praise

Admission is FREE

“The future will Speak”

Call 215 530 2318 for info/sign ups

Mission Statement
“The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement was created to give young people their voice that has been suppressed through over saturation of ignorance and negativity in their surrounding communities. We live in a time where education is not cool. Where being mathematically inclined is not cool. The movement creates opportunities for the young to perform at surrounding events and The movement gives the youth a chance to relay their opinion to not only their peers but generations of all kinds as they express their critical views of societal challenges, such as drug abuse, peer pressure, domestic violence, sexuality, violence, etc. It is a verbal therapy that allows the free will all people are gifted with, but suppress as they get older in age. It provides a safe haven for not only expression, but a chance to build connections with other youth strengthening a community of free thinking young minds that will be productive in society. The PYPM is the perfect place for young people to work on their craft of literal and/or performance poetry. The movement promotes critical thinking, social skills, public speaking, mentorship, community service, positive self esteem, social change, creative writing, cultural and ethnic diversity, closure of the generation gap, individuality and originality, emotional healing, encourages communication between generations, and many more things.”

Admission is $10 ($7 for youth)

FREE!

every Monday Night!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

FREE!

all Monday Nights!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

FREE!

all Monday Nights!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

The show reveals Jonathan’s subconscious dream state while his body is actually comatose in a hospital.

He is guided by three characters that represent three sides of his cognitive being. It is here that he is forced to reconcile with his past while his future remains obscured and uncertain.

The Shakedown Project is an experimental production company shaking off the established conventions of theatrical performance by means of technically innovative “immersion theater” and audience interaction.

The Shakedown Project (TSP) focuses on the collaboration of film, music, spoken poetry, dance, and physical theater to create enhanced theatrical performance spaces.

Jonathan is our inaugural production.

Show times:

April 1, 2010 - 8PM
April 2, 2010 - 8PM
April 3, 2010 - 2PM
April 3, 2010 - 8PM

TSP is in collaboration with The PDC, Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts, and Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and The Rotunda in the making of Jonathan.

The show reveals Jonathan’s subconscious dream state while his body is actually comatose in a hospital.

He is guided by three characters that represent three sides of his cognitive being. It is here that he is forced to reconcile with his past while his future remains obscured and uncertain.

The Shakedown Project is an experimental production company shaking off the established conventions of theatrical performance by means of technically innovative “immersion theater” and audience interaction.

The Shakedown Project (TSP) focuses on the collaboration of film, music, spoken poetry, dance, and physical theater to create enhanced theatrical performance spaces.

Jonathan is our inaugural production.

Show times:

April 1, 2010 - 8PM
April 2, 2010 - 8PM
April 3, 2010 - 2PM
April 3, 2010 - 8PM

TSP is in collaboration with The PDC, Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts, and Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and The Rotunda in the making of Jonathan.

The show reveals Jonathan’s subconscious dream state while his body is actually comatose in a hospital.

He is guided by three characters that represent three sides of his cognitive being. It is here that he is forced to reconcile with his past while his future remains obscured and uncertain.

The Shakedown Project is an experimental production company shaking off the established conventions of theatrical performance by means of technically innovative “immersion theater” and audience interaction.

The Shakedown Project (TSP) focuses on the collaboration of film, music, spoken poetry, dance, and physical theater to create enhanced theatrical performance spaces.

Jonathan is our inaugural production.

Show times:

April 1, 2010 - 8PM
April 2, 2010 - 8PM
April 3, 2010 - 2PM
April 3, 2010 - 8PM

TSP is in collaboration with The PDC, Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts, and Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and The Rotunda in the making of Jonathan.

The show reveals Jonathan’s subconscious dream state while his body is actually comatose in a hospital.

He is guided by three characters that represent three sides of his cognitive being. It is here that he is forced to reconcile with his past while his future remains obscured and uncertain.

The Shakedown Project is an experimental production company shaking off the established conventions of theatrical performance by means of technically innovative “immersion theater” and audience interaction.

The Shakedown Project (TSP) focuses on the collaboration of film, music, spoken poetry, dance, and physical theater to create enhanced theatrical performance spaces.

Jonathan is our inaugural production.

Show times:

April 1, 2010 - 8PM
April 2, 2010 - 8PM
April 3, 2010 - 2PM
April 3, 2010 - 8PM

TSP is in collaboration with The PDC, Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts, and Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and The Rotunda in the making of Jonathan.

The Shakedown Project presents a Physical Theater workshop with Whit MacLaughlin, Artistic Director of New Paradise Laboratories.

The Shakedown Project is an experimental production company shaking off the established conventions of theatrical performance by means of technically innovative “immersion theater” and audience interaction.

The Shakedown Project (TSP) focuses on the collaboration of film, music, spoken poetry, dance, and physical theater to create enhanced theatrical performance spaces.

Jonathan is the innaugural production and will open on April 1, 2010 at The Rotunda. The show will run through the 2nd and 3rd of April 2010.

TSP is in collaboration with The PDC, Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts, and
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and The Rotunda in the making of Jonathan.

Open to all Visual Artists: CFEVA’S New Courtland Artist Fellowship

Deadline March 5, 2010: The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in partnership with NewCourtland, is pleased to offer Philadelphia area artists the opportunity to participate in an exciting, community-based fellowship. Through the NewCourtland Artist Fellowship, eight artists will be selected to bring innovative and engaging art-making to seniors in sites throughout Philadelphia. In order to apply, artists are asked to develop an intergenerational project that brings New Courtland’s residents together with school age children/teens to create a meaningful experience and a high quality artistic project. Work created by residents and their school age partners during the 2010 Fellowship Program will be exhibited with the work of the artist fellows in a large, well publicized exhibition entitled Art is Ageless.

Accepted artists will receive a fellowship award of $2,500. Once artists receive this award they will be responsible for conducting ten 1.5 hour workshops, attending several preliminary and post-workshop meetings, attending one sensitivity training session, and participating in the Art is Ageless exhibition in Spring 2011. Artists will also be separately compensated for purchasing all necessary art supplies and professionally presenting the artwork created in their program for the final exhibition.

For more details and an application please contact Genevieve Coutroubis at 215 546-7775 x11 or Genevieve@cfeva.org.

Inspired by actual events, Waltz with Bashir chronicles one man’s descent into his own half-forgotten past. Filmmaker Ari Folman, an Israeli veteran of the First Lebanon War, encounters and old friend suffering from nightmares of the conflict. Ari begins to wonder why his own memories are full of gaps. In an effort to uncover the truth, he reconnects with old friends and dares to confront the horrors of war.
Hailed as innovative and devastating, Walz with Bashir fuses animation and documentary to create an experience unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed.

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life.
Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.

Admission is free.

LOVERS’ ROCK PHILLY EDITION

2v2 Bonnie & Clyde couples battles for $300 and a dozen roses!

FUN Cyphers all night!

And most importantly: $200 cash prize to the FLYEST DRESSED couple in the building!

The Legendary SESION 31 DJs join forces with California’s own 1520 SEDGWICK AV. DJs!!!

Playing heart breaking funk and love anthems all night:

SKEME RICHARDS
ILL-LITERATE
@LARGE
MANE ONE
THE SON OF JAREL

Hosted by the King and Qween of Hearts
FAME UNO and NIKKI VICTORIOUS

$5 for fly human beings and funky aliens
Kids 12 and under free

THE ORPHAN TREE
by Hannah Tsapatoris MacLeod, Vivian Appler, Jackie Ruggerio Jacobson and Makaria Tsapatoris

AUDITIONS WILL BE HELD ON : Wednesday January 20th
AT : The Rotunda - 40th and Walnut Sts.
FROM: 6pm-9pm

One workshop Performance will be held in March

Small stipend for rehearsals and performance.

Contact Hannah at
nakedfeetproductions@verizon.net
for more information or to schedule an audition

CHARACTER BREAK DOWN:

THE GODDESSES
Baba Yaga:     woman 50’s - 80’s The crone of the triple goddess. She gave birth to the sun. Often seen tending                                                         fire, cooking brain stew and giving people menial tasks to accomplish

Dragonlady:     woman 30’s - 50’s Mother aspect of the triple goddess. She gave birth to the moon. She has the                                                     habit of collecting interesting and beautiful things and sometimes people.

Moth Queen:    woman 30’s - 40’s Maiden aspect of the triple goddess. She gave birth to the stars. She is the                                                              patron saint of the righteous suicide

THE ORPHANS
Jennifer Goodwife:     Woman 30’s - 40’s  She is The American Housewife - as perfect as she is shallow. She                                                                     doesn’t know she lost her soul a long time ago.

Sex Slave:                   Woman 20’s - 40’s  Sold into the sex slave trade as a child. She has lost her ability to                                                                         speak

Francis:                        Woman 20’s - 40’s  Tends the tree and gardens. Her lobotomy makes her struggle to                                                                 remember her old life. She has a special relationship with moth queen

Man/Woman                Man 20’s - 50’s  Ze has a gender distinction issue. Ze is trying to discover his soul. Ze is                                                             in search that which will make hem whole

Girl With No Feet        Woman any age - Man/Woman’s alter ego often giving advice, criticism,                                                                                 encouragement and self deprecation as she sees fit. She is a sock puppet.

Diana/ W                 Woman - 30’s - 40’s She is the most famous of the amazons. She fights justice and the                                                                         rights of all orphans. She is every woman’s greatest strength

Hannah Tsapatoris Macleod
Founder/Producing Artistic Director
Naked Feet Theatrical Productions
www.nakedfeetproductions.com
nakedfeetproductions@verizon.net

Before I Forget [aka, Avant que j'oublie] (2007 / 108 minutes) In one of the great movies of the last decade Jacques Nolot writes, directs and stars as a gay man adjusting to his lover’s death, advancing age, and his failing body.

Poison (1990 / 85 minutes)  Todd Haynes’ masterful first feature is inspired by the writings of Jean Genet and propelled by Haynes’ own unique sense of collage.

The Meatrack (1970 / 65 minutes)  A young boy grows up to be a hustler in this time capsule of a more carefree and groovy era.

Admission is free.

The Man I Killed [aka, Broken Lullaby] (1932 / 76 minutes)  Ernst Lubitsch directs Lionel Barrymore and Phillips Holmes in a favorite of Gilles Deleuze about the guilt afflicting a French Soldier after World War I.

American Nightmares [aka, Combat Shock] (1986 / 92 minutes)  Buddy Giovinazzo’s grungy chronicle of a deranged Vietnam veteran descending into madness on Staten Island.

Admission is free

Secret Beyond The Door (1948 / 99 minutes)  “Some Men Destroy What They Love Most!” Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave star in Fritz Lang’s Freudian Bluebeard yarn.

From the Life of the Marionettes [aka, Aus dem Leben der Marionetten] (1980 / 104 minutes)  In color as well as black & white film stock, Sven Nykvist’s photographs Ingmar Bergman’s German-language TV-movie exploring a businessman’s murder of a prostitute.

Admission is free

The Tarnished Angels (1958 / 91 minutes)  Reporter Rock Hudson is drawn to has-been pilot, Robert Stack and his wife, Dorothy Malone in Douglas Sirk’s rich cinemascope adaptation of William Faulkner’s novel, Pylon.

Maybe I’ll Come Home In The Spring (1971 / 74 minutes)  Salty teen runaway Sally Field returns home after a year on her own living with Hippies and has trouble adjusting to middle-class adulthood in Joseph Sargent’s made-for-TV-movie photographed by the great Russell Metty.  With David Carradine.

Damaged Lives (1933 / 61 minutes)  “His life of debauchery brought disease to his wife!”  Edgar G. Ulmer’s superb Art Deco melodrama about a couple diagnosed with syphilis.

Admission is free

Mandingo (1975 / 127 minutes)  James Mason lords-over Richard Fleischer’s lurid Gothic melodrama of slave breeding in the pre-Civil War Deep South.

Whity (1971 / 95 minutes)  Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Western!

Admission is free

The Body Beneath (1970 / 82 minutes)  Vampires masquerade as clergy in Andy Milligan’s off-beat UK-lensed thriller.

Door To Silence [aka, Le porte del silenzio] (1991 / 87 minutes)  Insanity and the supernatural fugue for John Savage in one of Lucio Fulci’s last movies.

Admission is free

Blind Alley (1939 / 69 minutes)  Gangster Chester Morris faces off against psychoanalyst Ralph Bellamy as lives hang in the balance.  Cinematography care of Lucien Ballard.

Mikey and Nicky (1976 / 119 minutes)  John Cassavetes and Peter Falk star in Elaine May’s gangster drama.

Admission is free.

* Agent Moosehead
* Psychedelphia
* DJ Ginkgo
* Si Senorita
* Others TBA

MCing the event is Chris Goldstein, Communications director of PhillyNORML. Also available will be a new tea blend by Madame Potts named in honor of this group - “PhillyNORML” - come on out to try some! Guest speaker list TBA.

All funds raised benefit PhillyNORML and aid us in making medical marijuana a reality in PA, and in carrying out our mission. Lets make 2010 an even better year than 2009!

Admission is $5

Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938) was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects. He accidentally discovered the stop trick, or substitution, in 1896, and was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his films. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the “Cinemagician.”

Admission is free

jazz

It may sound like a limited palette — strings, strings and percussion — but the music on cellist Daniel Levin’s Fuhuffah (Clean Feed) is remarkably varied, juggling sounds, textures and approaches that don’t allow for the suggestion of monotony. That’s partly due to the talent on hand: Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and Detroit-born drummer Gerald Cleaver are well-entrenched in the European and Downtown improv scenes. (Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly steps in for Cleaver on this gig, but if anything that will make things even more comfortable given the constant musical exhanges between Scandinavia and the Windy City.) But beyond enlisting the right collaborators, Levin has a staggeringly inventive voice, quick-witted and visceral, sweetly melodic and savagely atonal.
Thu., Dec. 17, 8 p.m., free, Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., arsnovaworkshop.com.

Readers include: Julie Phillips Brown, Charles Cantalupo, CS Carrier, Norma Cole, CA Conrad, Thomas Devaney, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Ryan Eckes, Nava EtShalom, Carla Harryman, Michael Hennessey, Suzanne Heyd, Bill Howe, Lisa Howe,  Adrian Khactu, Ish Klein, Matthew Landis, David Larsen, Gregory Laynor, Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Pattie McCarthy, Chris McCreary, Jenn McCreary, Laura Moriarty, Aldon Nielsen, Bob Perelman, Carlos Soto Román, Jacob Russell, Jennifer Scappettone,  Eric Selland, James Shea, Frank Sherlock, Evie Shockley, Kim Gek Lin Short,  Ron Silliman, Danny Snelson, Jamie Townsend, Barrett Watten, Tyrone Williams, Timothy Yu, Jason Zuzga.

Please join us to hear a bevy of local and visiting poets for 2009’s MLA Off-Site Poetry Reading. Performances start at 7pm and will go until approximately 10pm.

Admission is free and open to the public.

It is with pleasure that I am writing to you to announce, The Un-Inhibited Muse, a festival of independent short films by independent cinematographers and featuring live performances by local artists. A celebration of song, dance and the Inspired.

To paint you a portrait of our endeavors, I am writing to invite you, your subscription holders and artists to participate in this event. We are currently accepting submissions, vendor and performance artist at www.uninhibitedmusefestival.ning.com.

It is our desire to show case the aspirations of local artists using art, film and spoken word as instruments of their masterpiece and exhibit their activism. It is an old tradition, one that has been viewed in forms such as the cromlech to the harlequin.  The festival focuses on the art of using language, sound and color to create imagery that expresses the ideologies, emotions and physical views of life and fantasy as witnessed by local artists. A journey beyond heartache and hard lessons, racial divide and economic status to actively participating in social change.

Muse is defined as one of nine sources of inspiration. Inspired, we create works of art that move the soul. If we, artists, are left un-inhibited and inspired we may heal an aching soul, encourage one to move mountains or simply and lovingly encourage a heart’s song to be sung.

Over the past several years we have received generous donations and the support of The Leeway Foundation, The Philadelphia Activity Fund, Community College of Philadelphia and Through My Eyes Film, Withoutabox.com, Get Well Philly and Jones Apparel Group.  I hope that you will join us this year in making this an event to be remembered. If you should have any additional concerns or questions I can be reached at the information listed below.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Namaste,

Sannii Crespina-flores
Conceptual Artist and C.E.O.

Shows are at 7pm and 8:30pm. There will be a 30 minute break between shows, so feel free to come to both and hang out at the venue between sets. We”ll have finger foods, body products, and music for sale.

Old and new friends can expect to hear their favorite Jazz standards, works by the Jazz masters and masters of the American popular song form, as well as some of George’s newest compositions. Don’t be surprised by a taste of free jazz as well!

George Barron is acclaimed for the warmth and high energy of his tenor and soprano saxophone playing. His is a driving, passionate sound that runs the gambit from smooth to explosive.

With influences like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane it is no wonder that he impressed New York Times Jazz Critic, John S. Wilson, who called him,… “A very versatile and polished saxophonist.”

His saxophone virtuosity has won Barron positions as a featured soloist with bands lead by Lonnie Liston Smith and Norman Connors. During a three year tenure with Smith, he performed and recorded along side artists such as Cecil McBee, Buster Williams, Stanley Clark, Mtume and Al Foster. His warm lyrical tone can be heard on Smith’s earlier Flying Dutchman recording “Astral Traveling” and his saxophone is also prominent on the subsequent album entitled “Cosmic Funk”.

The captivating voice of his wife, Janet Barron, is a featured attraction in most of his performance and presentations. At time she adds a unique vocal component that functions as another horn part. At other times she is center stage and melting your soul with a passionate ballad or burning it up with the blues. Her style is a blend of influences such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae and Nancy Wilson. Her treatment of straight ahead jazz standards is always exciting and swing is the operative word.

George’s son Farid Barron, is an award winning soloist, and is the pianist on the track titled “Games and Toys” on the Emanations CD. He fills the piano chair on George’s previous CD “Crossing the Rubicon” in its entirety. He has performed with trumpeter Donald Byrd and he held the piano chair with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for several years.

Admission is FREE

OUTER SPACE (Cleveland)
TELECULT POWERS (Brooklyn)
BEE MASK / GOD WILLING DUO (Philly)
NAGLE / LENTINI DUO (Philly)

Guest curated by Chris Madak.

OUTER OUTER SPACE
Established by John Elliott in 2008, the Cleveland, Ohio-based Outer Space has since blossomed into a collective of likeminded artists, operating as a sort of laboratory for the development of an idiosyncratic improvising grammar with roots extending into territories including the kitchen-sink human/machine assemblages of 1970s west coast electronics, the utopian plasticity of sound posited in the golden age of GRM, and the perfected throb of Wolfgang Voigt’s Gas.

Elliott, whose ascendant profile owes much to his work as a member of the neo-kosmiche trio Emeralds and sludge-rock heroes Puffy Areolas, as well as to live and recorded collaborations with artists including Sam Goldberg, Aaron Dilloway, John Olson, Wyatt Howland, and Max Eisenberg, will be joined on analog synthesizer for this performance by Jeff Hatfield, best known as half of Fragments, who manage a singular fusion of rust belt basement electronics and Schnitzler-esque cantankerous opacity. This is the incarnation of Outer Space represented on the recent “Stereo Constellations” cdr and the forthcoming “Lightyear Demonstrations” double cassette.

At a cultural moment in which many emerging artists are rightly charged with reliance upon facile nostalgia-qua-nostalgia, Outer Space represents a studied and graceful substantive engagement with the problems of retrofuturism. Co-headliners Telecult Powers, a Brooklyn-based duo who work in formats ranging from film, animation, and graphic art to recording, performance, and handcrafted electronic instruments do much the same, albeit from an entirely distinct angle of approach, mustering an aesthetic that diverts the self-conscious hermeticism of Coil, Throbbing Gristle, et al and the frigid, paranoid isolation of private-press outsider electronics a la Nik Racevik toward the shoals of an affable and fantastically baroque campiness.

For all this intricately wrought affectation, the artists known as Witchbeam and Mister Matthews never lose sight of the importance of sheer sonic heft and the maintenance of pathways to transcendence through discipline and focus, a fact attested to by their steadily growing reputation as one of the most truly stellar live units in the contemporary New York underground and by the mindbending epiphanies offered by their ultra-limited studio recordings and their recent collaborations with the likes of Grasshopper and John Fell Ryan of Excepter.

Local support will be provided by veteran fellow travelers Alex Nagle and Joe Lentini and a freshly minted electronics/tapes-heavy meeting of Ren Schofield and Chris Benedetto Madak, better known as God Willing and Bee Mask, respectively.

(text by Chris Madak)

Admission is FREE

The 2010 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium performance art for social change evening brings a collection of artists to the stage. PLP The Unity Performance Art Ensemble, spoken word artists, poets, music and dramatic presenters on this night will center their performances on societal changes (from what to what)designed to enhance our society thus reflecting the highest good for the most of us not the least of us. Creative pieces could highlight President Obama’s change, Buddy Miles changes, there’s nothing permanent but change, etc. This night will be an ed-u-tainment extravaganza.

Admission is FREE

Sponsored by: African-American Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania
Contact: Brother Robb Carter 215-898-0105

(IMPROV) MOVEMENT CLASSES!

FREE!

most Monday Nights!

7-9 PM Adults (18+) (Starting Sept. 21st)

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

Class dates for 2009 are 9/21 (adults only), 10/5, 10/19, 10/26, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14, 12/21, 12/28

Open Mic/ Slam Poetry at its finest

“The future will Speak”

Call 215 530 2318 for info/sign ups

Mission Statement
“The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement was created to give young people their voice that has been suppressed through over saturation of ignorance and negativity in their surrounding communities. We live in a time where education is not cool. Where being mathematically inclined is not cool. The movement creates opportunities for the young to perform at surrounding events and The movement gives the youth a chance to relay their opinion to not only their peers but generations of all kinds as they express their critical views of societal challenges, such as drug abuse, peer pressure, domestic violence, sexuality, violence, etc. It is a verbal therapy that allows the free will all people are gifted with, but suppress as they get older in age. It provides a safe haven for not only expression, but a chance to build connections with other youth strengthening a community of free thinking young minds that will be productive in society. The PYPM is the perfect place for young people to work on their craft of literal and/or performance poetry. The movement promotes critical thinking, social skills, public speaking, mentorship, community service, positive self esteem, social change, creative writing, cultural and ethnic diversity, closure of the generation gap, individuality and originality, emotional healing, encourages communication between generations, and many more things.”

Admission is $10 ($7 for youth)

music, praise dancing, theatre. $10

Celebrating a day of African cinema; RWUL presents the “I Luv Africa” Film Series and Community Discussion Philadelphia program.  The “I Luv Africa” film series and discussion will showcase independent films depicting stories about African culture and people while helping start dialogue around awareness of current topics in Africa.  In addition, the film series is a part of the continuing RWUL “I Luv Africa” documentary film project.  The film project is about African people sharing their own unique stories of Africa.  The main focus of the film project is to shatter some of the stereotypes associated with the continent.

Come Celebrate a Day of Independent African Film, Food, and Discussion Featured Films:
“Democracy in Dakar”-Senegal/US
“The Soul of Ashanti”-Ghana
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell” –Liberia
“Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love”-Senegal

Panel Discussion:
Nomadic Wax and Sol Productions-Hip-hop in Africa
The Africa Channel-Programming and Community
Lost Girls of Sudan- New Filmmaker explores the crisis in Darfur
Peace Corps-My Experience in Niger

The film series is a promotional event to promote RWUL, local non-profit organizations, and future community film ventures.  Donations will be accepted at the event and proceeds will go to The Rotunda for future community programming.

Reel Worldwide Underground Link RWUL (pronounced r-u-l-e) is a non-profit organization that originated in Richmond, Virginia in March 2007.  RWUL has since expanded and hopes to build a foundation that will give a voice to all artists worldwide by supporting positive creative film ventures in the independent film community and by promoting global awareness through the media of film.
Contact Info:
RWUL, Reel Worldwide Underground Link
Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong, RWUL Founder
Phone: (347)-834-3767
Email: rebekahfrimpong@rwul.com
Web: www.rwul.com
###

FREE!

all Monday Nights!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

FREE!

every Monday night!

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience! Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

American Babylon (1987 / 79 minutes)  Roger Michael Watkins’ penultimate film as ‘Richard Mahler’ presents two sexually dysfunctional married couples as an allegory of late Twentieth Century living.  With Bobby Astyr, Michael Gaunt, Tish Ambrose and Taija Rae.

Admission is FREE

Saturday the 14th (1981 / 75 minutes)  “Just when you thought it was safe to look at the calendar again.”

Bride of Boogedy (1987 / 100 minutes)  More ghostly high-jinks ensue in this sequel to Mr. Boogedy.

Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988 / 78 minutes)  Ray Walston, Patty McCormack and Michael Berryman star in the kooky monster-spoof sequel to the ‘original’ parody, Saturday the 14th (1981).

Admission is FREE

Brewster McCloud (1970 / 105 minutes)  Bud Cort stars as a boy who lives in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome and wishes to fly.  Robert Altman’s early movie features Margaret Hamilton, Sally Kellerman, William Windom, Shelley Duvall, Stacy Keach and Jennifer Salt.

Admission is FREE

Doors Open At 7 pm
$10 Admission

Featuring:
The Philadelphia-Area Return Of
OMEGALORD

Also Appearing:
SPUR GANG
BACKWOODS PAYBACK
STEVE-O-LUTION DAWN

The Underside of the Blues Presents
THE BIG ROCK AND ROLL SHOW

Crazy Man Crazy
Shakey Lyman
The Speedkings

DOORS 7pm, SHOW STARTS 8pm
Suggested Donation: $5 (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

More info: email michael@crazymancrazy.com

Go Go Tales (2007 / 96 minutes)  Abel Ferrara’s strongest work in years is a saturated gambling fantasy set in a NYC strip club fallen on hard times.  It features indelible character work from Willem Dafoe, Asia Argento, Matthew Modine, Bob Hoskins, and especially Sylvia Miles and Roy Dotrice.

Admission is FREE

(part 2009-2010 fall/winter Performance Series (Nov. 4th, Dec. 2nd 2009 & January 6th 2010) )

This event series presents a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes, poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, performance~art creations & visual projections

Sign up for the open mic to close the night!

This month’s event will feature Guest Artists & Highlight the work of Resident Performance Artist;  & (collaborators) The Elements (Elliott Levin, Tserendorj, & Special Guest Andres Cisneros! w/ Visual Projections by Peter (Parker) Brodhead)

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS on January 6th:

Feature Artists:

Preview of Excerpts from“Transit Tales: a public her-story,” an original dance with words by Gabrielle de Burke /PlumDragoness, 2009-2010 Community Education Center’s Awardee of the New Edge Residency in Theater! Making it’=s Debut January 29th-31st @ the CEC!}

Music by Grammy Award Winning Producer Rodney Whittenberg,
instrumentation by Elliott Levin, Djo Fortunado, Andres Ciserno, Jon Espo, Nicole Alexander & additional beats by Paul Jarrett. Visual Projections mixed by Peter Brodhead, compiled by Daniel Sposato, created by visual artist Barbara Zenelli & other anonymous graffiti artists.

Guest Artists:

Monica McIntyre
Soulful Singer, Songwriter & Cellist

Elliott Levin
Free Jazz & World Music Saxophonist, Flautist  & Poet

Fatima E. Adamu
Visual Singer, Songwriter, Dancer & Painter

Gina Ferrera
World Music w/ a Modern Electronic Gyil Fusion Twist

Admission is FREE

graf. breakers. DJs. open mic for MCs. $3

$3

please check back for details.

“I Luv Africa” Film Series + Community Discussion

Filmmakers and Guest Speakers from Peace Corps and The Africa Channel present and discuss their work plus

3 films: The Bronx Princess, Sleepwalking Land, and Pray the Devil Back to Hell, plus one short film presentation on the Lost Girls of Sudan.

Admission is FREE

featuring
OUTPOST
COLOR IS LUXURY
DAVE SMOLEN

Admission is FREE

Bowerbird pays homage to the eclectic past of the GATE series, and offers a synth laden night of psychedelic slow jams and industrial thrashes. Headling the evening will be New York City’s post-punk electronic band OUTPOST featuring Mark C of the 80s no wave band Live Skull on guitar, synths, and vocals, with Stuart Argabright (Ike Yard, Dominatrix, Death Comet Crew) on synths, laptop, vocals, and bassist Kent Heine (Holy Ghost, Steve Shiffman & the Land of No). Opening the evening will be Charles Cohen and Tyler Weaver’s duo project COLOR IS LUXURY, and a solo by DAVE SMOLEN.

This event series will present a diverse range of dance, live music/electronic sound-scapes,
poetry/spoken-words/story-telling, visual art & projections

Sign up for the open mic to close the night!

This event will feature Guest Artists & Highlight the work of Resident Artist Gabrielle B.C./”PlumDragoness

Accompanied with live instrumentation by; The ELEMENTS…”
~Elliott Levin }~
~Tseren Dorj ~
& Special Guest Andres Cisneros!

Original Photo & Visual Projections by Peter (Parker) Brodhead

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS:
December 2nd:
Youth Performers!
Lemuria (a.k.a. Jake klein) w/ vocals by Gina
Christina Lopez
Noël Dior { u can find her on facebook}
Juan Fuego Phoenix

Admission is free but donations are encouraged.

longest running bboy/bgirl event in Philly

breakin, graf, MC open mic, DJs, live music

$3 admission

“The future will Speak”

Call 215 530 2318 for info/sign ups

Mission Statement
“The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement was created to give young people their voice that has been suppressed through over saturation of ignorance and negativity in their surrounding communities. We live in a time where education is not cool. Where being mathematically inclined is not cool. The movement creates opportunities for the young to perform at surrounding events and The movement gives the youth a chance to relay their opinion to not only their peers but generations of all kinds as they express their critical views of societal challenges, such as drug abuse, peer pressure, domestic violence, sexuality, violence, etc. It is a verbal therapy that allows the free will all people are gifted with, but suppress as they get older in age. It provides a safe haven for not only expression, but a chance to build connections with other youth strengthening a community of free thinking young minds that will be productive in society. The PYPM is the perfect place for young people to work on their craft of literal and/or performance poetry. The movement promotes critical thinking, social skills, public speaking, mentorship, community service, positive self esteem, social change, creative writing, cultural and ethnic diversity, closure of the generation gap, individuality and originality, emotional healing, encourages communication between generations, and many more things.”

Admission is $10 ($7 for youth)

The Inbetweens
Mike Gamble, guitar
Noah Jarrett, bass
Conor Elmes, drums

The Inbetweens force the guitar trio format to walk the plank and make it jump anyway. All graduates of the New England Conservatory in Boston, guitarist Mike Gamble, bassist Noah Jarrett, and drummer Conor Elmes collectively weave melodies and vamps into intricate spiderwebs of rhthym. The trio circles each other like predators seeking the same prey, exploring uncharted territories while they are at it. The brooklyn based trio is releasing their third album, “Quantum Cowboy” on madison based, record label layered.

free

The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society brings in a professional writer, artist, editor, or some other kind of mover and shaker in the Science Fiction genre, nearly every month.

Robert Jeschonek
Award-winning author

Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning author of fiction, essays, articles, comic books, and podcasts. His young adult urban fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, is due to be published in 2011. Mad Scientist Meets Cannibal, a collection of his fantasy and science fiction stories, was released in 2008 by PS Publishing in England. Jeschonek was long-listed for the British Fantasy Award in 2007 for his story, Fear of Rain. His work appeared in three volumes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and won the grand prize in Volume VI. He is one of the few writers who were invited to contribute stories to Peter David’s New Frontier universe. His story, Oil and Water, appeared in Star Trek: New Frontier: No Limits. Jeschonek is based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where he served as editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Advocate.

free

If you want a FREE night out, a night with music that will sooth your soul, capture your heart and make you dance your butt off,  don’t miss this FREE, ALL AGES EVENT!  There will be vendors and Cafe’ Con Chocolate will be serving a light fare of mexican snacks. (if you’re a vendor, contact vitamindfestival@aol.com for more info)

Our line up of performances include:

Emily Bate is holding up traffic at the intersection of many genres: she makes folk music with irony, indie singer songwriter fare sweetened with choral music, and jazz with only her ukulele in tow, all heal together on her strength and expressiveness of her voice.  Her lyrics tackle childhood political struggle, queer sex, and love, often in the same breath.  She frequently tours on public transit with her uke by her side, these days focusing on electric guitar on yet another journey in her career!

Michelle Saul-Yamasaki and Fermin Santiago 3rd, also know as F & M Duet - Latin jazz is the soul of their music. Their music reaches out to your heart with a romantic voice, played by violinist Michelle, and is accompanied by a smooth, harmonious piano, Fermin Santiago the 3rd. Their music is not only romantic, but also filled with cool improvisation and up-beat songs that brighten up your spirit. These two talented young adults have been playing together ever since they met in middle school. Their inspiration for Latin Jazz comes from their Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. They love their audiences and love for them to sing along and enjoy their music, since the audience is their biggest inspiration. “We really see and feel like the audience is our family,” they say, so they play for fun and with love. They have played in numerous Latin events, and many other cozy places, like Café Con Chocolate. For all music lovers, this is the F &: M Duet.

Stephan Hayes is a well seasoned performer with many faces! Stephan’s journeys on the road and in real life have been, to say the least, most interesting! Currently playing in several bands, Stephan has managed to take some time out to go into the recording studio and work on yet another CD, soon to be coming your way! Her accomplishments as a singer/songwriter and poet are still a “work in progress.

Chasing Arethusa - “Chamber Punk.” “A love story with a sidecar, Joe P. who became a luthier, fell for Eleanor P., he built her a viola.  The raised Abby P. from a freshly dug grave. The name Arethusa was spotted on a street sign in a cemetery.  Turns out Arethusa is a water nymph who hails from Greek mythology.”

Mia Johnson, Erin Ryan and Stephan Hayes, also know as 2.5 “Women” - Mia Johnson is one of our locals who has been setting up shop all over this town with her musical endeavors.  This latest 2.5 group has performed Mia’s songs, covers, and on occasion a Stargazer tune!

Vitamin D 3 - Vitamin D has been writing songs 4-ever, but was never big on stage performances, but with Chrissy Tashian & Stephan Hayes by her side she has decided to show her face!  Working on a cd titled “hAlf mY aGe & sOmeWhere in bEtween” is in the works!

Six O’Clock Saints defines why genre labels are limiting and trivial. Listen to them and hear an eclectic mesh of rock, hip-hop, punk, and traces of metal.

Sound in Stone are a folk rock blues jazz kind of everything band taking influences from across the board and across time.

Bruce Lucy is a Philly quartet of keys, guitar, bass and drums that believes in the power of a pop chorus, stickers, the magic of back-up vocals, dancing, and fun. They’ve crafted a sound rooted in 50s and 60s doo-wop and pop stylings that is filtered through instrumentation with heavy tones reminiscent of punk and 90s rock.

And the night wouldn’t be right without The Dangerous Ponies - The Dangerous Ponies is a 7 piece queer and allied band from Philadelphia, slathered in gold and rainbows. They play pop/rock/carnival hijacked by kindergarteners’ music where everyone sings. They are designed to make electric sing alongs, and rock dance along jams to melt your face.

Emily Bates
Michelle Duet
Stephan Hayes
Chasing Arethusa
Mia, Erin & Stephan
Vitamin D 3
Six O’Clock Saints
Sound in Stone
Bruce Lucy
Dangerous Ponies

FREE!

most Monday Nights!

7-9 PM Adults (18+) (Starting Sept. 21st)

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

Class dates for 2009 are 9/21 (adults only), 10/5, 10/19, 10/26, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14, 12/21, 12/28

FREE!

most Monday Nights!

7-9 PM Adults (18+) (Starting Sept. 21st)

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

Class dates for 2009 are 9/21 (adults only), 10/5, 10/19, 10/26, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14, 12/21, 12/28

FREE!

most Monday Nights!

7-9 PM Adults (18+) (Starting Sept. 21st)

Learn modern, jazz and ballet technique! AND - Use improvisational movement to create dances! Learn to choreograph!

For those with a lot, a little or no dance experience!
Please dress appropriately - ready to dance!

Class dates for 2009 are 9/21 (adults only), 10/5, 10/19, 10/26, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14, 12/21, 12/28

Tenth Annual
Year-End Cabaret
& Cheap Art Bazaar

A dizzy whirlwind of renegade puppet acts, jaw-drooping stunts, and mysterious one-man bands.

7:30 Cheap Art • 8pm Cabaret

– Featuring –
GEPPETTA (Philly)
PAPERMOON (Indonesia)
THE GREAT QUENTINI (Philly)
THE SUITCASE JUNKET (Amherst)
KESTREL PLUMP & BETH BLUM (Philly)
THE ROYAL FROG BALLET (Amherst)
OWEN BRIGHTMAN (New Orleans)
MC’S MORGAN & BETH (Philly)
REBECCA NAGLE (Baltimore)
LELSIE ROGERS (Philly)

SINCE DECEMBER OF 2000 the city of Philadelphia has celebrated the end of the calendar year with a cabaret and art sale entrusted to the auspices of Puppet Uprising, a unique cultural phenomenon that brings local and touring puppet artists to perform together for a night or two in the back of the Rotunda at 40th and Walnut Streets. THE 2009 YEAR-END CABARET features the talents of some half-dozen locals, many more from around the U.S., plus a pair of puppeteers from the city of Yogayakarta, Indonesia—Iwan and Ria (pictured holding a puppet on the left) of PAPERMOON PUPPET THEATRE will debut a short piece produced especially for this occasion!

Among the national acts coming to the Cabaret are Baltimore’s REBECCA NAGLE (shown emerging from a box near the top of this page) combining contortionism, burlesque, science experiments, audience participation games and confessional moments in two excerpts from her hilarious one-woman variety show “A Dozen Things I Want To Do Onstage.” New Orleanian OWEN BRIGHTMAN shares his swampy fantasy of anarchist prince Jean Lafitte, re-imagined as a hybrid man/beast in hot pursuit of a puppeteer’s affections in “Centaurs Among Sagittarius.” THE ROYAL FROG BALLET (small shadow screen pictured left) comes from Massachusetts with “The Year of Wanting,” a hand-cranked, candlelit shadow puppet show based on the Greek myth of Persephone and a patchwork of other winter folktales set to the one-man-band antics of THE SUITCASE JUNKET, who will also play music throughout the evening.

Local performers include GEPPETTA (Adelaide Windsome of Puppelele/Flora Y Fauna fame) with “Freaks and Fortunes,” the inner process of a young girl dealing with herself in a piece that comes to life through evolving landscapes, glittering fortunes and grotesque creatures. KESTREL PLUMP & BETH BLUM show an excerpt from their upcoming touring show “Imaginary Insides,” enacted as a bronchoscopy on a puppet corpse. LESLIE ROGERS (see the photo above on the left with the brick wal in the background) will perform a couple of teensy weensy puppet shows in her mouth (aided by live video feed), and THE GREAT QUENTINI (shown here in his regalia on the left) brings down the house with his annual visitation to the Puppet Uprising stage, entitled, “There Are Some Who Call Me…Tim!” As always, the Year-End Cabaret is officiated by various incarnations of MORGAN ANDREWS & BETH NIXON and preceded by our annual HOLIDAY CHEAP ART BAZAAR where all of the above artists offer snippets of their presence for you to take home with you. Other essential tokens and talismans handmade by local craftspeople will also be available for your perusal.

FOR MORE INFO call 267-909-2633.

Tenth Annual
Year-End Cabaret
& Cheap Art Bazaar

A dizzy whirlwind of renegade puppet acts, jaw-drooping stunts, and mysterious one-man bands.

7:30 Cheap Art • 8pm Cabaret

– Featuring –
GEPPETTA (Philly)
PAPERMOON (Indonesia)
THE GREAT QUENTINI (Philly)
THE SUITCASE JUNKET (Amherst)
KESTREL PLUMP & BETH BLUM (Philly)
THE ROYAL FROG BALLET (Amherst)
OWEN BRIGHTMAN (New Orleans)
MC’S MORGAN & BETH (Philly)
REBECCA NAGLE (Baltimore)
LELSIE ROGERS (Philly)

First Friday and Saturday
in December at the Rotunda
4014 Walnut St. Philadelphia
7:30 Cheap Art • 8pm Cabaret

SINCE DECEMBER OF 2000 the city of Philadelphia has celebrated the end of the calendar year with a cabaret and art sale entrusted to the auspices of Puppet Uprising, a unique cultural phenomenon that brings local and touring puppet artists to perform together for a night or two in the back of the Rotunda at 40th and Walnut Streets. THE 2009 YEAR-END CABARET features the talents of some half-dozen locals, many more from around the U.S., plus a pair of puppeteers from the city of Yogayakarta, Indonesia—Iwan and Ria (pictured holding a puppet on the left) of PAPERMOON PUPPET THEATRE will debut a short piece produced especially for this occasion!

Among the national acts coming to the Cabaret are Baltimore’s REBECCA NAGLE (shown emerging from a box near the top of this page) combining contortionism, burlesque, science experiments, audience participation games and confessional moments in two excerpts from her hilarious one-woman variety show “A Dozen Things I Want To Do Onstage.” New Orleanian OWEN BRIGHTMAN shares his swampy fantasy of anarchist prince Jean Lafitte, re-imagined as a hybrid man/beast in hot pursuit of a puppeteer’s affections in “Centaurs Among Sagittarius.” THE ROYAL FROG BALLET (small shadow screen pictured left) comes from Massachusetts with “The Year of Wanting,” a hand-cranked, candlelit shadow puppet show based on the Greek myth of Persephone and a patchwork of other winter folktales set to the one-man-band antics of THE SUITCASE JUNKET, who will also play music throughout the evening.

Local performers include GEPPETTA (Adelaide Windsome of Puppelele/Flora Y Fauna fame) with “Freaks and Fortunes,” the inner process of a young girl dealing with herself in a piece that comes to life through evolving landscapes, glittering fortunes and grotesque creatures. KESTREL PLUMP & BETH BLUM show an excerpt from their upcoming touring show “Imaginary Insides,” enacted as a bronchoscopy on a puppet corpse. LESLIE ROGERS (see the photo above on the left with the brick wal in the background) will perform a couple of teensy weensy puppet shows in her mouth (aided by live video feed), and THE GREAT QUENTINI (shown here in his regalia on the left) brings down the house with his annual visitation to the Puppet Uprising stage, entitled, “There Are Some Who Call Me…Tim!” As always, the Year-End Cabaret is officiated by various incarnations of MORGAN ANDREWS & BETH NIXON and preceded by our annual HOLIDAY CHEAP ART BAZAAR where all of the above artists offer snippets of their presence for you to take home with you. Other essential tokens and talismans handmade by local craftspeople will also be available for your perusal.

FOR MORE INFO call 267-909-2633.