Critic Peter Filichia Shares Personal History of the American Theater

After 25 years as a professional critic, Peter Filichia has seen, heard, and written about it all. In a very personal celebration of his life in the theatre, Filichia will share his most interesting moments, including adventures with nice actors (Jerry Orbach), not-so-nice ones (Mary Tyler Moore), and being face to face with Ben Vereen after giving him a bad review. 

Filichia’s Personal History has been performed in cities across the country. Now, for one night only, he brings it to historic Guild Hall, with all the proceeds benefitting The Episcopal Actors' Guild's Emergency Aid and Relief Program. A wine and cheese reception will follow the performance. 

Filichia also will sell and sign his new book "Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks: A Very Opinionated History of the Broadway Musicals That Did Not Win the Tony Award."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­When: Monday, June 24 at 7:00 pm

Where: Guild Hall at The Little Church Around the Corner – 1 E. 29thSt. – New York, NY 10016 (between 5th Avenue and Madison –R/N @ 28th, 6 @ 28th)

Cost: Suggested: $10 (members) & $15 (non-members)

RSVP:(212) 685-2927 or matt@actorsguild.org

Info at www.actorsguild.org and www.facebook.com/actorsguild1923.

More on Peter Filichia:
Peter Filichia is the New York-based theater critic emeritus for The Newark (N.J.) Star Ledger newspaper and News 12 television station. He is also the author of "Let's Put on a Musical" (Back Stage Books, 2007), now in its third printing; "Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit of the Season/The Biggest Flop of the Season" (Applause Books, 2010); and "Broadway Musical MVPs 1960-2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Last 50 Seasons" (Applause Books, 2011), chosen one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 Performing Arts titles of 2011.

Peter has been a columnist for Playbill, Theater.com, Theatermania and Theater Week. He blogs weekly at MasterworksBroadway.com; and writes “Filichia Features” for Musical Theatre International’s Web site, The Marquee, and “Filichia on Friday” for Kritzerland Records’ Web site.

Before joining the Theatre World Awards in 1996 as host and head of the selection committee, Peter served four terms as president of the Drama Desk. He has served on an assessment panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and is currently critic-in-residence for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the musical theater judge for the ASCAP Awards program.

Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light

By Retta Blaney
Since its 2012 release, the landmark DVD “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light” (Paraclete Press) has continued to attract a growing audience captivated by the production’s unique exploration of one of history’s most intriguing saints. This week, in celebration of the first anniversary of Hildegard’s long-awaited canonization by the Vatican, an enhanced version of the DVD is being made available with Spanish and German subtitles to further increase its international appeal.

Produced by critically acclaimed mezzo soprano Linn Maxwell, the production features a powerful film adaptation of Maxwell’s compelling one-woman stage play and more than three hours of supplemental content. Extras include an annotated script and production notes, a two-part seminar for church or academic group discussion, and a variety of topical interviews with many of the world’s leading Hildegard scholars, authors and experts.

“Having the opportunity to invite modern audiences to meet this extraordinary 12th-century nun, writer, composer, healer and prophet continues to be a remarkable privilege,” Maxwell said. “Those who do agree she has many important things to say, and it is not surprising that her voice – impossible to silence in her time – continues to grow in relevance and strength today. The addition of new film subtitles in both Spanish and German will only amplify Hildegard’s international appeal.”

Hildegard has been an admired and controversial figure both inside and outside the Catholic Church for centuries. Beginning in earliest childhood, she experienced powerful, recurring visions that called her to express herself through her many talents and assume a role of unique leadership in the medieval church – one that often challenged the establishment head-on.

International interest in Hildegard has enjoyed a powerful resurgence following her May 10, 2012 canonization and October 2012 naming by Pope Benedict XVI as a “Doctor of the Church.” This rare title, bestowed over nine centuries on individuals of extraordinary importance in the life of the Church, has placed Hildegard in the highly select company of only 35 individuals, only four of whom have been women.

Written and performed by Maxwell, the film adaptation of the play “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light” is based on an original production directed by Erv Raible that has won widespread critical acclaim after 80 performances in both North America and Europe. Writing in the New York Theater Review, John Hoglund has said, “Hildegard returns...through the artistry of Linn Maxwell in a commanding performance that is as scholarly as it is relevant today;” according to The Times of London, “Hildegard is reborn as mezzo Linn Maxwell,” with her “hypnotically beautiful song.”

The DVD features Maxwell as Hildegard, performing the mystic’s compositions on authentic medieval instruments and, through Hildegard’s actual writings, reveals the life and passion of an extraordinary woman who lived centuries ahead of her time.

Maxwell has performed on the stages of major orchestras including the Chicago, Cleveland, Seattle and Toronto Symphonies, and the Berlin Radio Orchestra, among others. Her operatic engagements include San Francisco (Placido Domingo conducting), the Cincinnati Opera, Netherlands Opera (with Nicholas Harnancourt), Hungarian State Opera and recital halls across the United States and in 27 countries worldwide. In addition to her extensive performances of the stage version of “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light,” Maxwell has also performed cabaret and one-woman shows in New York City and made her European cabaret debut in 2006 at Frankfurt’s International Theater.

 

Retta Blaney is an award-winning journalist and author of Working on the Inside: The Spiritual Life through the Eyes of Actors. Visit her blog, Life Upon the Sacred Stage at http://uponthesacredstage.blogspot.com.

Tessa Afshar is one of the faculty at the first New England Christian Writers Retreat this October at Singing Hills in New Hampshire. Meet her one-on-one and sign up to have her critique up to five pages of your work at http://www.singinghills.net/christianwritersretreat.html.

Exploring the Boundaries of Applied Theater

By Dr. Dale Savidge, executive director of Christians in Theatre Arts

The exciting and emerging field of applied theatre offers organizations and individuals with training, experience and passion for theatre to expand their theatrical practices in the service of people (groups and individuals) in their communities. 

“Exploring the Boundaries of Applied Theatre”      

June 28-30, 2013

@ Re-Create Cafe at the Salvation Army

800 McCallie Avenue

Chattanooga TN

The wide variety of applied theatre techniques can only be introduced in this brief weekend we will spend together; but the overview will point to specific directions for the participants to explore through future training. We will survey the field and then focus our time on two specific forms of applied theatre which are in wide use around the world, and which have many applications in marginalized communities: Playback Theatre and Forum Theatre.

We will also explore the Playback Cafe. This is an applied theatre program in South Carolina aimed at building community and bringing healing to homeless people, people in recovery programs and people who are victims of abuse. It utilizes some techniques from Playback Theatre as well as other AT methods. We will learn some of the rituals of Playback, practice them together and explore how the Café model might be useful in reaching at risk groups in the community.

Schedule:

Thursday, June 27, 2013
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Introduction to the field of applied theatre with special reference to marginalized groups. We will engage in a variety of theatre games as a means of surfacing the central concern(s) of our group. Then we will begin practicing applied theatre methods in order to listen to each other and begin to find ways forward together. During this evening participants will experience the power of AT in their lives and they will also gain valuable instruction (and practice) in these techniques.

Friday, June 28, 2013
9:00 am – Noon

Introduction to Playback Theatre. We don’t just tell stories – we are stories. In this session we’ll practice listening and seeing each other, so that we can tune into the stories we need to tell each other. The first part will be a series of AT exercises designed to break us out of our mechanized response to our environment; the second part will be practicing the short forms of Playback. This session will demonstrate techniques which address the challenges people face from inside themselves.

Noon: conversations over lunch

1 pm – 4 pm

Performing in a Playback Café Part I. We will practice the rituals of Playback theatre and apply them to creating an atmosphere of openness to the stories of the marginalized and at-risk in our communities. As we experience the healing value of telling and seeing our stories reenacted, we will also learn how to create a theatrical atmosphere which invites disadvantaged people into our Café to create community with us and with each other. We’ll explore the Playback short forms in this afternoon session.

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Performing in a Playback Café Part II. In this evening session we’ll practice the rituals used in long-form Playback theatre.

Saturday, June 29, 2013
9:00 am – Noon

Introduction to Forum Theatre. We will learn the ways we can work with existing groups of people (groups which are bound together by a shared external oppression: homelessness, poverty, discrimination, cultural marginalization, etc) and expose, identify, name and grapple with the challenges which are holding them back. The first part of this session will be utilizing various Image theater methods to embody and express oppression; the second part will be developing a Forum scene. This session will demonstrate techniques which address the challenges people face from outside themselves or their communities.

Noon: conversations over lunch

1 pm – 4 pm

Performing a Forum Theatre scene. In this final session together we will perform our forum scene and invite our weekend community to try out solutions to our shared problems.

4-4:30 pm

Wrap up, questions and applications for the future.
REGISTER Here

Fun Things to See and Do With the Kids This Summer in NYC -- Part One

Discovery Times Square

Opens May 24 -- EXPLORE THE OCEAN'S GREATEST MYSTERIES

SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure will capture your imagination and take you on an incredible voyage from the glory days of pirates to modern-day shipwrecks!

Journey to bottom of the ocean and beyond to uncover the sea's best-kept secrets and greatest treasures. Dig for treasure with a real robotic arm and experience what high-speed, storm winds feel like on the open sea with the hurricane wind tunnel.

Featuring over 500 authentic artifacts, including real gold and silver treasures, the exhibit demonstrates modern-day science and technology used thousands of feet below the ocean's surface. Click here to purchase tickets.

Opens June 16-- The Art of the Brick Tickets Now On Sale! Taking LEGO® bricks from child's toy to sophisticated art form and beyond! Artist Nathan Sawaya and Discovery Times Square are bringing the exhibition CNN named 'One of the Top Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions' to New York City this June - doubling its size and introducing never-before-seen masterpieces! THE ART OF THE BRICK, an exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya, is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit will be the world's biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and will feature brand-new, pieces by Sawaya. Don't miss the show CNN named 'One of the Top Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions' coming to Times Square on June 14th!   Buy Tickets   226 West 44th Street (between 7th and 8th avenues) New York, NY 10036 866.987.9692 www.DiscoveryTSX.com

On Rising Above That Which Seeks To Destroy Us

Photo source: emerald-depths.deviantart.com

Post written by Peter G. James Sinclair
It is so easy to concentrate on the flaws that lie within one’s own humanity. Especially when there are those surrounding you who make it their occupation to make certain that we are very aware of those flaws. But we must remember that there is not one of us who is flawless. And as Jesus said, that before you go picking the speck out of your brother’s eye make certain you have pulled the log out of your own eye.
We Must Forgive
So firstly we need to forgive the ones who accuse us in Jesus’ Name and we need to bless our enemies. Oh how we have wanted to curse them. Oh how we have wanted to hit back. But we are commanded to love them. So love them we will.
‘Lord forgive us for wrongful thoughts and harsh reactions. We choose to walk in forgiveness even in the midst of the storms and the accusations.’
We Must Concentrate
We must never concentrate on what we think others are thinking about us, because in most cases they are not. That is a lie from the enemy. All we need to do is to concentrate on what the Lord is thinking of us as His child. And He sees us through the eyes of our Saviour, and all He sees is flawless – not by might nor by power but by His Spirit. It is through His grace that we are seen that way. No matter what mistakes we make He loves us. No matter what cracks appear He loves us. No matter the ups and downs of life He loves us. He loves us. He loves you. He loves me.
We Must Be Empowered
So to be loved is to be empowered. It is to be believed in. It is to be cherished. It is to feel the support of another. And in times of ill health and in times of trials it embeds a backbone within this at times spineless self so that we can continue to get up again and again and again. To love again. To breathe again. To rise again, as if from the very depths of death. Out of the ashes a new person is born to face another day.
It Is Not Finished Until…
And where others see us as finished there arises a new sense of destiny within us. And where once we were written off and even discarded to the side there is a fresh vision planted and a renewed energy restored to go yet again.
Critics will always come. But at the end of history – when all the notes are gathered up and compiled – only the great deeds done and obstacles overcome will be spoken of. The criticisms will dissipate into dust. And yet the mighty deeds done by those they claimed to be flawed will be carved into the stones of time for all to see and to marvel, pouring forth praise to the Author of those great deeds, shouting, ‘Many are the great things God has done!’

Reprinted with permission from My Balck Piano http://www.myblackpiano.com/.
Peter G. James Sinclair is the international best selling author of a number of highly acclaimed motivational books including ‘Good Things Don’t Come To Those Who Wait’. The title of this book summarizes his philosophy, which he carries over and into all his business ventures. Thousands of individuals, all around the world, subscribe to Peter’s Motivational Memo that is written to inspire individuals to be the best they can possibly become. With more than twenty years business experience in the fields of domestic and commercial cleaning, publishing, musical theatre, web design, personal development and property development – he has also entered the hair salon industry. Oh, and by the way, he writes world class musicals as well.

2013 Christy Nominations Announced

2013 Nominees Announced

The 14th annual Christy Awards for excellence in Christian fiction will be presented at a dinner to be held Mon., June 24, 2013, at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. Louis.

The reservation form for the 2013 Christy Awards will be available online at www.christyawards.com after May 3. The keynote speaker and emcee will be announced soon.
The Christy Advisory Board has announced nominees in nine categories for the 2013 Christy Awards honoring Christian fiction.

Contemporary Romance/

The Breath of Dawn

by Kristen Heitzmann (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Lethal Legacy

by Irene Hannon (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Wildflowers from Winter

by Katie Ganshert (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas/

Two Destinies

by Elizabeth Musser (David C Cook)

You Don't Know Me

by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)

Waiting for Sunrise

by Eva Marie Everson (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone/

The Air We Breathe

by Christa Parrish (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Borders of the Heart

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

Not in the Heart

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

First Novel/

Into the Free

by Julie Cantrell (David C Cook)

Tangled Ashes

by Michèle Phoenix (Tyndale House Publishers)

Wedded to War

by Jocelyn Green (River North, an imprint of Moody Press)

Historical/

Flame of Resistance

by Tracy Groot (Tyndale House Publishers)

Wedded to War

by Jocelyn Green (River North, an imprint of Moody Press)

A Wreath of Snow

by Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Historical Romance/

Against the Tide

by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Be Still My Soul

by Joanne Bischof (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Love's Reckoning

by Laura Frantz (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/

Downfall

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

The Last Plea Bargain

by Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers)

Rare Earth

by Davis Bunn (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Submerged

by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
*This category includes four nominees due to a tie in scoring.

Visionary/

Daughter of Light

by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press)

Soul's Gate

by James L. Rubart (Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Starflower

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Young Adult/

Child of the Mountains

by Marilyn Sue Shank (Delacorte Press, a division of Random House)

Failstate

by John W. Otte (Marcher Lord Press)

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words

by Rachel Coker (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)