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  • Artist Talk with Weili Shi

    Weili Shi is an artist who designs through the media of digital technologies. He creates unconventional experiences with the aim of provoking people’s consciousness. In his most recent work, Shan Shui in the World, he transformed the information of the buildings in Manhattan, NY, into traditional Chinese shan shui (landscape) paintings by a custom algorithm. This project revisits the ideas implicit in Chinese literati paintings of shan shui: the relationship between urban life and people’s yearning for nature, and between social responsibility and spiritual purity. With generative technology, Shan Shui in the World has the ability to represent any place in the world—including the city where the audience is—in the form of a shan shui painting. Weili Shi is currently a developer at Bluecadet and teaches at Parsons School of Design.

    More info: shi-weili.com

  • The Three Pigettes and The Big Bad Lady Wolf/Las Tres Cerditas y La Loba Feroz

    Presented by Teatro SEA, the premiere Bilingual Arts-in-Education Organization and Latino Children’s Theatre in the United States, Mama Piggy narrates this bilingual adaptation that features a vegetarian wolf and the three cutest little pigs on this side of town. Action, adventure and not to mention Salsa, as well as other Latin music keep audiences clapping en route to a happy ending. Recommended for Pre-K to 5th Grade.

    Mamá Piggy narra esta adaptación bilingüe que cuenta con el protagonismo de una loba vegetariana y las tres cerditas más lindas de este lado de la ciudad. Acción, aventura y música salsa, así como otros ritmos latinos, harán mantener al público aplaudiendo hasta un final feliz. Recomendada para estudiantes de Pre-K hasta 5to grado. Funciones bilingües.

    More info: http://teatrosea.org/

  • Alicia Ostriker

    Alicia Ostriker is a poet and critic, author of seventeen collections of poetry, most recently The Book of Seventy (winner of the National Jewish book Award), The Old Woman, the Tulip and the Dog, and Waiting for the Light.  She has received the Paterson Poetry Prize, the San Francisco State Poetry Center Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, and has been twice nominated for the National Book Award, among other honors.    As a critic she is the author of Stealing the Language; the Emergence of Women’s Poetry in America, and other books on poetry and on the Bible.  She is distinguished Professor Emerita of Rutgers University, teaches in the low-residency Poetry MFA program at Drew university, and is currently a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. This event is part of the Jewish Cultural Studies Program.

  • Alena Graedon

    Alena Graedon’s first novel, The Word Exchange, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Paperback Row pick, and selected as a best novel of 2014 by Kirkus. It has been translated into eight languages. She has twice been a MacDowell Colony Fellow
    (2012 and 2017), and has also received fellowships at Yaddo, Ucross, The Virginia Center for the Arts, The Vermont Studio Center, and Jentel. Her nonfiction has been published in The New York Times Book Review, newyorker.com, The Believer magazine, Guernica, and Post Road among other publications. A native of Durham, NC, Graedon is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia University’s MFA program, and she is an Assistant Professor of English at Monmouth University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

  • L.A. Theatre Work’s The Mountaintop

    On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated outside room 306 of The Lorraine Motel in Memphis. What happened inside room 306 the night before the killing is a mystery. In her internationally acclaimed play, The Mountaintop, playwright Katori Hall fantasizes what may have transpired in the overnight hours between  the legendary civil rights leader and a seemingly inconsequential hotel maid.

    Winner of the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Play, The Mountaintop is rife with humor and political jabs, while giving us a glimpse at the human side of Martin Luther King Jr. Hours after his famed final speech, punctuated by the immortal line, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” the celebrated Reverend reveals his hopes, regrets, and fears, creating a masterful bridge between mortality  and immortality. In 2018, America and the world marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther  King  Jr.,  yet,  struggles  to resolve racial tension remain a challenge for communities everywhere.

    The Mountaintop premiered in London in 2009 and subsequently ran on Broadway starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson.

    The Mountaintop contains some mature language.

    “It is a relationship that is breathtaking, hilarious, and heart-stopping in its exchanges, and in its speedy ability to reveal character and pull the audience into the ring.”

    – The Independent, London

    **************

    Under the leadership of Producing Director, Susan Albert Loewenberg, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) has been the foremost radio theater company in the United States for four decades. L.A. Theatre Works is broadcast weekly in America on public radio stations, daily in China on the Radio Beijing Network, streamed online at www.latw.org and programs are aired internationally on the BBC, CBC, and many other English language networks. LATW has single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions. On the road, LATW has delighted audiences with its unique live radio theater style performances in over 300 small towns and major cities, including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington and Chicago, Beijing and Shanghai. An L.A. Theatre Works performance is immediate, spontaneous, and features a first-rate cast, live sound effects, and a connection to the audience rarely felt in a traditional theater setting. This theater… is an event.

    More information: www.latw.org

     

  • Wailin’ Jennys

    The Wailin Jennys are Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Heather Masse three distinct voices that together make an achingly perfect vocal sound.

    Starting as a happy accident of solo singer/songwriters getting together for a one-time-only performance at a tiny guitar shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Wailin’ Jennys have grown over the years into one of today’s most beloved international folk acts. Founding members Moody and Mehta along with New York-based Masse continue to create some of the most exciting music on the folk-roots scene, stepping up their musical game with each critically lauded recording and thrilling audiences with their renowned live performances.

    In 2004, The Wailin’ Jennys released their first full-length album 40 Days to great critical acclaim, netting a 2005 Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. Bolstered by their frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor’s public radio show A Prairie Home Companion, The Jennys exploded onto the roots music scene, performing at packed venues across the Canada, the U.S. and throughout the world. 

    The Jennys’ sophomore album, 2006’s Firecracker, served as a powerful follow-up to their career-making debut. Artistically, the record found The Jennys stepping out of the folk realm and into the world of alt-country, pop and rock. Garnering much attention, it was nominated for a Juno Award and won a 2007 Folk Alliance Award for Contemporary Release of the Year. Firecracker had legs, spending over 56 weeks on the Billboard charts.

     The trio’s 2009 release, Live at Mauch Chunk Opera House, also spent over a year on the Billboard bluegrass charts. That landmark live album bottled the lightning of The Jennys’ live performances with show-stopping harmonies, impressive instrumental prowess, breathtaking songs and, of course, witty stage banter. 

    For their latest album, 2011’s Juno-winning Bright Morning Stars, The Wailin’ Jennys joined the ranks of Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris and recorded with award-winning producer Mark Howard. Co-produced by frequent Jennys collaborator and Juno Award-nominated David Travers-Smith, the album combines fresh and innovative sounds with the band’s signature harmonies — a perfect mix of Americana, pop and traditional folk that is destined to be a modern classic.

    Although known primarily as an acoustic outfit, The Wailin’ Jennys have a diverse musical background that has shaped their musical sensibilities. Soprano Ruth Moody (vocals, guitar, accordion, banjo, bodhrán) is a classically trained vocalist and pianist with a burgeoning solo career. She made a splash in 2010 with the Juno-nominated The Garden which was followed up with 2013’s gorgeous These Wilder Things. She’s  an accomplished, versatile singer of traditional and Celtic music and as the former lead singer of Juno-nominated roots band Scruj MacDuhk. Mezzo Nicky Mehta (vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums, ukulele), a classically trained dancer raised on ’70s a.m. radio and heavily influenced by alternative pop, was nominated for a Canadian Indie Music Award for her  striking debut solo album, 2002’s Weather Vane. In July 2009 she became the proud mother to twin boys, Beck and Finn. Alto Heather Masse (vocals, upright bass) is a Jazz Voice graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, who has performed in Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing, Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings and is a regular guest on A Prairie Home Companion. She has also toured with her own band, supporting her 2009 Red House release Bird Song. Her latest, 2013’s Lock My Heart, is an inspired album of jazz standards and originals with legendary pianist Dick Hyman.

    With their varying backgrounds, each of the Jennys is unique in their individual expression. Together they forge a unified folk-pop sound — all delivered with the irresistible vocal power of three.

     ”…perhaps more beautiful than ever. The Wailin’ Jennys are the darlings of the North American roots music arena.” Greg Quill, The Toronto Star

    “Like three little birds singing softly
    and sweetly in the early morn, the harmony of the Wailin’ Jennys
    pleasantly rises from the speakers and greets the listener with a
    refreshing start to the day.” David McPherson, Exclaim!  

    Website: http://www.thewailinjennys.com/ 

  • Rockin’ Road to Dublin

    Rockin’ Road to Dublin returns to Pollak Theatre in 2018 by popular demand! Created by the 2009 World Champion of Irish Dance Scott Doherty (Riverdance & Lord of the Dance) and worldwide touring Irish musician Chris Smith, Rockin’ Road is the new generation of Irish music and dance. RRTD is a breathtaking display of classic Irish tunes accented by rock ‘n’ roll riffs, electrifying dancers and a dynamic light show. Enjoy the thrilling sights and sounds as daring performers execute rapid-fire leaps, twirls and footwork, and nimble fiddlers square off with driving electric guitar chords and pulse-pounding drum beats. Fans say, “Rockin’ Road to Dublin not only combines Riverdance and Lord of the Dance perfectly, but actually surpasses them!”

    “The artists were unbelievable. The dancers took my breath away. I didn’t want it to end!” ~Patron

  • Catapult

    Catapult is, technically, a shadow dance company.  What it really is:  a theatrical art form that is an amazingly imaginative combination of dance, story-telling, and sculpture.   Founded in 2009, by Adam Battlestein (choreographer, Creative Director and Master Teaching Artist for Pilobolus Dance Theatre for 19 years), Catapult catapulted to fame on Season 8 of America’s Got Talent, earning their way to the finals of the NBC-TV hit show.

    Catapult is all about the human body and its ability to transform.  The talented Catapult dancers work behind a screen to create seemingly impossible dancing shadow silhouettes of shapes from the world around us. You won’t believe your eyes as you watch these incredible dancers become a mountain, a full size elephant, a helicopter, a house with a window and people inside the window.  You will never figure out how they do it, and you won’t know what they will make next – you will be surprised and delighted again and again. Audiences of all ages love what appear to be effortless transformations and applaud over and over as more and more unbelievable images appear.

    Catapult’s “Magic Shadows” show is packed with hundreds of shape transformations, and it is full of humor, emotion, and engaging stories.  There are 8 fully realized stories told through music and shadows and 6 short shadow dance videos which play between the live dances – brief moments of poetry or humor which perfectly cleanse the palate and prepare the audience for their next shadow journey.  Audiences leave this show dazed and happy, and they will never look at their own shadow the same way again!

     

  • Doo Wop Explosion III “A Celebration of Acapella Harmony”

    Doo Wop harmony returns to Pollak Theatre with another spectacular line-up of acapella groups. The evening’s line-up includes one of the East Coast’s top acapella groups Quiet Storm, who in addition to their own set will join international recording artist, songwriter and pianist, Gaynel Hodge on stage for a special performance. Gaynel Hodge co-wrote the 1950’s Platinum hit song, Earth Angel and is founding member and musical director of
    such famous groups as The Platters, the Turks and The Hollywood Flames. Also performing are Joel & The Dynamics, featuring Joel Katz, who has sung with The Autumns, Cliftonaires, Del Satins, Impalas, Five Discs and others; Frankie & The Fashions who formed on a street corner in Philadelphia in the early 60’s by Frank LaFaro, who wrote their signature song What Do I Have To Do; Nostalgia 5, known for their complex vocal harmonies; Re-MemberThen, whose recent video singing in a train tunnel went viral, attracting 50,000 views; and 5/3 Woodland, entertainers extraordinaire known for mixing their great harmonies with a touch of humor.

    [This line up is subject to change]
    produced by Classic Urban Harmonies

     

    Gold Circle seats will include Preshow Meet & Greet Reception

  • Rare Wildlife Revealed: The James Fiorentino Traveling Art Exhibition

    Artist James Fiorentino of Hunterdon County, NJ, has won national acclaim for his ability to create uncanny likenesses of people. The youngest artist ever inducted into the prestigious New York Society of Illustrators, James uses his self-taught watercolor expression to paint some of the most recognized faces in the world, from sports icons and presidents to Nobel Prize winners and CEOs. His award-winning art is showcased in museums, galleries, and private collections across the globe, and his story has been told on national television and in the pages of magazines and newspapers.

    Fiorentino uses his trademark detail and realism in watercolor to paint New Jersey’s most endangered and vulnerable wildlife species. His evocative artwork inspires viewers through his life-like depictions of rare wildlife in their natural surroundings. His paintings truly bring wildlife to life on paper, and in doing so, his art helps to educate and engage viewers about the precipitous declines that many of these species have undergone.

    “Though their painting styles differ, Fiorentino is adept, like Neiman
    was, at drawing, which is of course the most fundamental skill required
    to succeed as a figurative artist. Very few wildlife artists that I know
    of can handle the human figure in convincing fashion. Fiorentino has
    distinguished himself as a wildlife artist with skill and versatility
    that positions him above the rest in this regard.”

    In keeping with his expanding body of work, James is a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists and Artists for Conservation in addition to the American and New Jersey Watercolor Societies and the Salmagundi Club. He also serves as a trustee for The Raptor Trust and D & R Greenway Land Trust, both in New Jersey.

    Rare Wildlife Revealed: The James Fiorentino Traveling Art Exhibition is sponsored by Omni Distribution, LLC, Flying Fish Brewing Company, Merrill G. & Emita Hastings Foundation, Studio 7 Fine Art Gallery, and Somerset Patriots.

    This exhibition is presented in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation