Author Archives: beth

Sunday, Feb 15, 2015, 2pm at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, 388 Lighthouse Ave, SINY 10306

In anticipation of Tibetan New Year, Staten Island OutLOUD hosts a reading from a Tibetan national epic, King Gesar of Ling.  The Tibetan Museum will serve momos (Tibetan dumplings), and will also feature a free screening of a Tibetan film after our reading concludes.  Free & open to the public.  Details TBA.

Saturday, Jan 31, 2015, 7pm.  Art Lab, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building H (Snug Harbor), SINY 10301

Years ago, Staten Island artist Sarah Yuster painted the portrait of the novelist Saul Bellow.

“I wrote to him, sending samples of my work, and asking if we could meet so I might paint him. He liked my  letter and we began a correspondence.  A year later he invited me to Vermont, where I spent several days taking photos and talking with him and his wife.”  From those photographs, Ms. Yuster created a portrait of  the Nobel Prize-winning author of Henderson the Rain King, the Dean’s December, Ravelstein, and many other distinguished works.

The young painter was delighted to work with Bellow, and he was pleased with the final result.  The painting now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.  Sarah wrote an essay on her experience working with one of the most eminent American writers of the 20th century.

The painting is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Join us for a winter’s evening of readings & conversation with Sarah.  Free & open to the public.

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 2:30pm at Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave (@Brielle), SINY 10314

Young readers can build confidence and strengthen their skills by reading aloud to a thoughtful, patient listener: a kindly licensed therapy dog named Sweetie Pie.  Sweetie Pie is a gentle, kid-friendly boxer.  She’s getting older, so she moves slower and loves to sit & listen as kids read to her.  Kids enjoy Sweetie Pie and she loves curling up on the floor as kids and their parents hang out with her.

Kids can bring their favorite books from home, or borrow one of ours.  This is a fun event for the whole family; parents and kids can read together, or big brothers & sisters can read with their younger siblings.  Join us to sit in front of the fireplace, and gaze out the windows at the winter woodland scene, as we read our favorites.

Paws & Read OutLOUD  for Kidz is fun for all ages.  Free & open to the public.

At the St George Library Center, 5 Central Ave (@Hyatt St), SINY 10301.           A spoken-word-performance workshop for adults age 55+.  Our free eight-week series takes place on Saturday afternoons, January 17 – March 14.

Upcoming sessions: Saturday, Jan 24 at 3pm,  Sat, Jan 31 at 2:30pm, Sat February 7 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 14 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 21 at 2:30pm, Sat Feb 28 at 2:30pm, Sats March 7 & 14 at 2:30pm.

Have you ever wanted to get onstage at an open mic event, but hesitated to stand in front of an audience?  Have you ever felt uncertain when asked to make a toast at a wedding, or to speak in at a meeting or at some special occasion?  Our workshops will help you get comfortable in Staten Island OutLOUD’s spoken-word events, and in other aspects of public speaking.  If you want to read poetry at an open-mic, audition for a performance or make comments at a meeting our workshops will help you build confidence.  We’ll help you develop skills to present yourself effectively, enjoy the experience – and let your voice be heard!

Staten Island OutLOUD offers this 8-week workshop on developing and strengthening your spoken word performance skills.  And guess what?  Those skills will also help you communicate more effectively one-on-one, in small-group settings, on the phone, and in many other informal situations.

Here are some of the topics that our workshop series will explore: Introduction to voice & speech technique, movement, breath control, creating & structuring your script, speech, rehearsal technique, tricks for getting comfortable onstage, using a microphone, understanding and overcoming “stage fright”, engaging with your  audience, preparing for the unexpected.

Saturday, January 10, 2015.  8pm at Every Thing Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301

Staten Island OutLOUD’s series on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird continues with this free screening of a beautiful film by Polish filmmaker Piotr Kajstura, who is now based in New York City.

Winner of multiple film festival awards, this film combines magical realism with slave folk takes of the Deep South.  It is a lovely way to highlight some of the messages of Mockingbird:  Hope, community, questioning what we think we know, and striving against all odds.  The filmmaker will join us to talk about this unusual film; here’s your chance to enter into a dialogue about a very special project.

Baritone Anthony Turner will be our musical guest; he’ll sing I’ll Fly Away and other 19th century spirituals.  A Staten Island resident, Anthony has sung at the Kennedy Center, toured internationally with Laurie Anderson in Songs & Stories from Moby Dick, performed with Jessye Norman and appeared on the PBS Great Performances series, “Aida’s Brothers & SIsters”.

Sat, Dec 6, at 7:00pm   at SI MakerSpace, 450 Front St , SINY 10304. (Located at the corner of Thompson Street, a block off Bay St, & 2 blocks from Tappen Park). Plenty of free parking on the adjacent lot & surrounding streets.

Performance artist DB Lampman explores “Christmas To Me”, Harper Lee’s seldom-read memoir about a life-changing gift.

Our readers: Phoebe Blue and Mary Hernandez Ceribello.

When two friends surprised Harper Lee on Christmas morning of 1956, they created a rare opportunity: a year off to do nothing but write.  Their generous gift led her to finally publish To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ms. Lampman will create a tableau that cross-cuts between Harper Lee’s life as a struggling young writer in NYC in the 1950s, with her own film, The Bird – created when she won the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Award.  DB’s award, like Miss Lee’s surprising gift, gave her a year off to focus solely on her art.

SI MakerSpace is an exciting waterfront studio, offering dozens of cool programs for all ages!  Visit their website for their current schedule of cool classes for all ages:   www.makerspace.nyc