Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: October 1, 2023
By: Laura Deni
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LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YA

While laughter is not a cure all, guffawing has some proven benefits. In fact, the idea that laughter is good for you has been around for a long time.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Bible, Proverbs 17:22

A boisterous burst of laughter isn't required. A giggle will do.

The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and application of humor to effect positive change. Their rallying cry is "Humor Helps!"

"The strategic use of humor sparks connection, increases influence, improves communication and can be used as a competitive advantage in any industry. What’s more, humor provides innumerable benefits to our overall health and well-being, including reduced stress, greater resilience, decreased depressive symptoms, and even increased," states the organization.

39% Decrease in Stress in simply anticipating humor.

2X more productive after taking a humor break.

23% increase in memory recall after watching a funny video.

"AATH unites researchers from institutions like Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and the American Institute of Stress with expert practitioners, including global motivational speakers, nurses, doctors, comedians, entrepreneurs, and educators. Our international community of members knows that when it comes to making a positive difference, #HumorHelps.

We take the neuroscientific, psychological, and behavioral research of humor and show you how to use it to improve your life and the lives of others. All over the world, our members are applying the strategic use of humor in countless ways. From laughter exercises for dialysis patients to training executives to use humor in leadership—even coaching people to use humor as a mindfulness strategy to decrease stress—at AATH, we’re committed to making the world a happier place."

Members include: professional comedians, people who have benefited from humor, people who use (or want to learn how to use) humor in their profession, researchers, and ordinary people.

One of the members who is a certified level 3 Humor Professional with the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor and a comedy boot camp instructor for the Armed Services Arts Partnership is Army veteran Robin Phoenix who spent 26 years in the Army. After discharge she found her new mission in healing people, organizations and communities through humor. She created the Best Medicine Brigade to give veteran and military spouse comedians performance opportunities and to heal people with humor. Phoenix is passionate about the applied and therapeutic use of humor for mental health. She also facilitates HEAL*ARIOUS, a humor therapy program for veterans. Phoenix has been featured on USA Today, ABC and Fox. Robin has performed at Carolines on Broadway, Atlanta Comedy Theater, Comedy Zone, Bricktown Comedy Club, StarDome, Louisville Comedy Club, Zanies, Stand Up Live and for corporate audiences all over the country.

Phoenix is part of Best Medicine Brigade, a stand-up comedy group, which is slated to tour with Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) in February of 2024. The tour also features comedians Christian Johnson and Ashley Gutermuth in nine performances at bases across the Pacific.

Paul Rodriguez

Operation Stand-Up for Service, a standup comedy tour featuring the talents of Paul Rodriguez and Patrick DeGuire, is scheduled to tour with Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) this month. The tour features seven shows, touring bases throughout Southwest Asia, October 19-29.

Longtime comedian Paul Rodriguez has been making audiences laugh all over the world for nearly three decades with his unique brand of humor, blending his Latin heritage, the American dream and his undeniable universal appeal. Rodriguez’s multifaceted career as an actor and comedian includes starring roles and featured appearances in more than 45 films and numerous television series and comedy specials.

Voted one of the most influential Hispanics in America and awarded the Ruben Salazar Award by The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, Rodriguez has remained a constant force in his community and the world of comedy throughout his career. He remains involved with various charitable, civic and educational organizations, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and more. He is also a member of the advisory board of the California Film Commission. Additionally, as a part-owner of the world-famous Laugh Factory, Rodriguez has participated in the club’s annual free Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the underprivileged for more than 30 years.

In 2022, the City of Fresno honored Rodriguez with the Humanitarian of the Year Award for his tireless work on behalf of water conservation. As the chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, Rodriguez was one of the driving forces behind the California water bond measure coming to fruition.

Patrick DeGuire

Patrick DeGuire started performing stand-up after losing a significant amount of vision due to a disease called optic neuritis, and discovering laughter to be self-therapeutic. Soon after his comedy start, he won the Improv/Harrah’s National Comedy Club Talent Search, leading to numerous appearances on national television, including Comedy Central. DeGuire has performed and toured with comedians such as Tom Segura, Theo Von, Gary Owen, Tommy Davidson, Gabriel Iglesias, George Lopez and Paul Rodriguez. Aside from headlining at the top comedy clubs throughout the United States, he has also performed for U.S. troops overseas in Bahrain, Cuba (Guantanamo Bay), Djibouti, Dubai, Guam, Honduras, Iraq, Japan and Korea.

DeGuire’s material includes the advantages and disadvantages of living in a world with limited vision and the challenges that arise from it. DeGuire discusses the obstacles of relationships and being a father and stepfather to eight children. He also addresses an assortment of other topics, earning DeGuire a reputation for being both insightful and hilarious.

The fact that DeGuire found humor to be therapeutic is significant.

According to the MAYO clinic:

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can: Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain. Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling. Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:

Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.

Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.

Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.

Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your stress, depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier. It can also improve your self-esteem.

Are you afraid that you have an underdeveloped — or nonexistent — sense of humor? No problem. Humor can be learned. In fact, developing or refining your sense of humor may be easier than you think.

Find a few simple items, such as photos, greeting cards or comic strips, that make you chuckle. Then hang them up at home or in your office, or collect them in a file or notebook. Keep funny movies, TV shows, books, magazines or comedy videos on hand for when you need an added humor boost. Look online at joke websites or silly videos. Listen to humorous podcasts. Go to a comedy club.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Find a way to laugh about your own situations and watch your stress begin to fade away. Even if it feels forced at first, practice laughing. It does your body good.

Consider trying laughter yoga. In laughter yoga, people practice laughter as a group. Laughter is forced at first, but it can soon turn into spontaneous laughter.

Research on laughter yoga has been found to be at least as effective as group exercise for improving depression and life satisfaction in elderly women, according to J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2014;15(8):564-569, and Parkinsons patients also had improvements in symptoms after laughter yoga, as was published in A pilot study. Explore (NY). 2016;12(3):196-199.

According to the Veterans Administration: One simple Laughter Yoga exercise is to laugh to a beat. Try it now:

Say the words Mississippi Tennessee.
Now laugh with the same cadence you used to say those words: Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee Hee.
Repeat this ten times.

What do you notice? Many people find that the exercises strike them as funny enough to actually induce laughter.

Remember to know what isn't funny. Don't laugh at the expense of others. Are you careful to laugh with others, rather than at them? Some forms of humor aren't appropriate. Use your best judgment to discern a good joke from a bad or hurtful one.

And, don't forget 10-15 minutes of laughter per day may burn 10-40 extra calories.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

TATE MODERN in London has announced a new annual commission to support experimental and visionary new work. It will provide a platform for international artists at the cutting-edge of contemporary practice, enabling them to realise innovative and future-facing projects at a critical point in their careers.

Entitled the Infinities Commission, its name reflects the boundless curiosity of contemporary artists, the multiplicity of tools and technologies they use, and the limitless diversity of their approaches. The first commission will open in spring 2025 in The Tanks, Tate Modern’s unique spaces dedicated to performance, film and installation, and will be accessible to the public for free each year.

Catherine Wood, Tate Modern’s Director of Programs, said: "Artists have always been innovators, taking ideas, materials and technologies in unexpected directions and pushing them to their limits. Today, such artists are working in highly inventive ways, freely crossing a variety of disciplines to create speculative, disruptive, or immersive projects that sit outside conventional artistic categories. The Infinities Commission will give that kind of innovative work a home at Tate Modern and allow a broader public to experience it."

Each year, an invited panel of experts will select an artist for the commission. The artist will then create a major new work to be unveiled in the Tanks the following spring. In addition, the panel will also select three other artists to receive £10,000 of research and development funding to support the advancement of their work. The commissioned artist and the R&D funding recipients will all discuss their practice at a public ‘show and tell’ event. This event will also explore the latest thinking on contemporary culture, technology and creative innovation through a keynote speech from a prominent specialist in the field.

The first year’s selection panel comprises:

Brian Eno, musician and artist
Oulimata Gueye, critic and curator
Anne Imhof, artist
Andrea Lissoni, Artistic Director of Haus der Kunst in Munich
Legacy Russell, Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Kitchen in New York

The selection panel will be chaired by Catherine Wood, Director of Programs, Tate Modern. The commission will be curated by Rosalie Doubal, Senior Curator, International Art (Performance & Participation), Tate Modern.

In summer 2024 the panel will select the first artist to be commissioned. The artist’s new work will be unveiled in The Tanks at Tate Modern in spring 2025, coinciding with the first annual event.

UNIQUE EXHIBITION OF ANDY WARHOL'S

One of Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup creations.

paintings, prints, photographs, films and installations will open at Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Ireland on October 6, 2023 running until January 28, 2024 showcasing the artist’s extraordinary range of artworks produced over four decades.

"Art is anything you can get away with," said Andy Warhol. And indeed he got away with a lot — as any biography of the artist will inform you. But his art is anything but a con trick; it has stood the test of time. Warhol is also famous for the quote "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes," a view that has proved remarkably prescient in an era when social media has spurned a generation of self-regarding narcissists.

The Andy Warhol Three Times Out exhibition has been five years in the making and includes more than 250 works on loan from museums and private collections in the US, Canada, Europe and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

A broad range of Warhol’s work has been selected for the exhibitionn, from the Campbell’s Soup Cans to Marilyn Monroe.

Also on show are some of Warhol’s other famous works including Flowers, and portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, and Chairman Mao.

Several of Warhol’s self-portraits, skulls, electric chairs and avant-garde films Empire, Sleep, Kiss and Outer and Inner Space will also be part of the project.

Visitors to the will also experience Warhol’s immersive Silver Clouds sculpture.

The exhibition is curated by Barbara Dawson, Director of Hugh Lane Gallery, and Michael Dempsey, Head of Exhibitions.

The Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin houses one of Ireland's foremost collections of modern and contemporary art. 2000 works are on display, ranging from the Impressionist masterpieces of Manet, Monet, Renoir and Degas to works by leading international contemporary artists.

FASHIONED BY SARGENT through the lens of dress, Fashioned by Sargent presents a new perspective on one of the world’s most beloved artists, who used fashion and styling to realize his own creative vision. The exhibition brings together over 50 works by John Singer Sargent—including major loans from around the world like Madame X—along with more than a dozen period gowns and accessories.

Opening to the public on October 8, 2023, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA.

MANET/DEGAS This exhibition examines one of the most significant artistic dialogues in modern art history: the close and sometimes tumultuous relationship between Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas. Born only two years apart, Manet (1832–1883) and Degas (1834–1917) were friends, rivals, and, at times, antagonists who worked to define modern painting in France. By examining their careers in parallel and presenting their work side by side, this exhibition investigates how their artistic objectives and approaches both overlapped and diverged.

Through more than 150 paintings and works on paper, Manet/Degas takes a fresh look at the interactions of these two artists in the context of the family relationships, friendships, and intellectual circles that influenced their artistic and professional choices, deepening our understanding of a key moment in nineteenth-century French painting.

Manet/Degas is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Musées d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie, Paris.

On display through January 7, 2024 at The Met Fifth Avenue, New York City.

CHARMED SOLDIERS is a new online exhibition, at the National WWI Museum in Kansas City, MO.

The exhibition explores tangible objects that represented intangible feelings of hope, faith and luck to their owners.

Surrounded by industrial violence and death, service members of World War I found renewed faith, discovered magic and witnessed miracles in everyday and extraordinary objects. Charmed Soldiers, features a collection of 22 small, personal belongings that helped fighting forces and war workers hold on to hope, whether in the muddy trenches of the Western Front, on the waves of the South China Sea or flying high above the clouds.

"When I rejoined my men at the northern edge of the woods, I learned that no one had been hurt during my absence, but that a few minutes after I had left a sharp fragment, like a railroad spike, had riven itself deep into the bank just where my chest had been. Call it Luck or call it Providence, it was with me on the Eleventh of October, or I would not be alive today." —Lieutenant Edward C. Lukens, 320th Infantry

The objects featured in Charmed Soldiers were carried closely through war, including items such as saint medallions, Rin Tin Tin and Nenette dolls and protective folk magic charms that were believed to spiritually protect the carrier or bring good luck.

"Everyone can relate to the stories behind Charmed Soldiers. Even today, most people have a cherished item that represents devout faith or pure luck in their life," said Dr. Matthew Naylor, President and CEO of the National WWI Museum and Memorial. "During WWI, these tangible items helped many people through the dark moments of their service. Charmed Soldiers is a fascinating examination of objects that tell the very human experience of the Great War."

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SWEET CHARITY

SHRINERS CHILDREN'S OPEN a professional, charitable tournament, takes place at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas October 9th through the 15th. The Shriners Children's Open debuted on the PGA TOUR as the Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic in 1983. The tournament is the third event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup.

With a purse of $8.4 million, the event attracts some of the most recognized names in golf each year. Past Open tournament champions include Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Kevin Na, Sungjae Im and in 2022 Tom Kim.

Shriners Children’s is the sponsor and benefactor of the Shriners Children Open. This international pediatric healthcare system has 22 locations in North America, and national and international outreach programs. Additionally, the system has an extensive telehealth network that extends the system’s expertise of care to rural communities and other locations. Proceeds from the tournament support the health care system and its mission to improve the lives of children.

SPREADING THE WORD

BLACK SABBATH: THE BALLET the unconventional ballet production, which is based around the Birmingham, England heavy metal band's iconic music, had it's sold out world premiere in Birmingham with some famous faces in the audience.

This heavy metal ballet is a first for the on pointe crowd.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Bev Bevan, Sharon Osbourne and Black Sabbath drummer Geezer Butler were among the stars to hit the purple carpet at Birmingham's Hippodrome for the opening night of Black Sabbath - The Ballet.

Legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi even took to the stage for a special curtain call performance, playing guitar on "Paranoid," while surrounded by dancers,

Some of Black Sabbath's biggest hits have been re-orchestrated for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, with new compositions inspired by Black Sabbath also performed a live orchestra. On-stage guitars and drums have also been integrated into the performance. The idea of a Black Sabbath ballet was the brain-child of Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta CBE, 50. Acosta is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. His extensive and varied accomplishments include choreographing the Royal Ballet productions of Don Quixote and Carmen, plus the latest Guys and Dolls production for the West End. He has also written two books, including a work of fiction Pig’s Foot.

He was recognized in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2014 when he was awarded a CBE. In 2018 Carlos received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the Royal Academy of Dance in recognition of his standing as one of the most influential figures in Dance today and in 2019 the Critics’ Circle bestowed Carlos with their Annual Award for Outstanding Services to the Arts.

Acosta has been planning the unusual Black Sabbqth Ballet offering ever since he first arrived in Birmingham at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic. This marks his first commission as the leader of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Black Sabbath played their first ever gig in The Crown pub - just a stone’s throw from the company's base in Thorp Street. The pub was recently saved from demolition and has been declared a heritage site by fans.

Following a three night stand in Black Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, Black Sabbath - The Ballet then tours to Plymouth Theatre Royal and London’s Sadler’s Wells.

THE MOVING MEMORY PROJECT A festival devoted to memory and forgetting.

Launched in 2019, The Moving Memory Project embodies its founders’ vision of bringing together artists, caregivers, and seniors to create a community of care surrounding issues connected to memory loss and destigmatizing the diagnosis of dementia, with the goal of raising awareness, to increase funding, until a cure is found. "Works like this can help the world think and talk about Alzheimer's in important new ways" says co-producer David Shenk, whose writings on Alzheimer's and dementia garnered him international acclaim as an authority on the subject.

fill in the blank Featuring Original Dance Works by Stefanie Nelson & Maya Orchin, Rebecca Margolick, and Mignolo Dance.

Visual Art Installation by Justin Randolph Thompson and Bradly Dever Treadaway. Live Music by The Straightjackets.

This event is made possible, in part, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the West Harlem Development Corporation. Free admission. Friday, October 6 at 8pm at Broadway Presbyterian Church, New York City.

THE BALTIMORE RAVENS OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE'S (NFL)

Poe the mascot

professional cheer and dance squad is slated to tour with Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) this October. The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders are scheduled to visit four bases across Europe as part of the annual AFE Pro Blitz tour.

The Ravens squad was the first to establish a co-ed cheer-leading team in the NFL, with both a dance team and a co-ed stunt team who entertain Ravens fans at home games. The team was founded in 1998 and currently consists of more than 50 members. The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders perform at the home stadium of the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium. In addition to cheering at home games, each season the squad also appears at more than 150 events.

On tour are Brittany B., Brittany M., Carli P., Jamie A., Lexy S., Nia A., and Sean S.

Poe, the Baltimore Ravens mascot, rounds out the touring group. Poe has been an integral part of the Baltimore Ravens since he was "hatched" in 1998. Originally, Poe was one of three mascots, all raven brothers named "Edgar", "Allan", and "Poe". Because the Baltimore Ravens were named after the poem The Raven by Baltimore resident Edgar Allan Poe, it was natural that the team name their mascots after Poe himself. Poe spends his time at M&T Bank Stadium, where he enthusiastically cheers for the Baltimore Ravens football team. He has been to the Pro Bowl more than 10 times.

THE 2023 PRELUDE FESTIVAL with the theme Generation, will bring together artists, thinkers, activists, and presenters from New York City and beyond to explore the many ways in which new forms of theatre and performances are taking place today. PRELUDE '23 marks the 20th Anniversary of the festival.

After the time of COVID, the New York theatre and performance landscape woke up to a new reality where nearly every aspect of theatre and performance has changed. Theatres are experiencing a collapse of the subscription system, a loss of audiences, and the closure of spaces and festivals. But is it really the doom and gloom we talk and read about? Theatre artists, ensembles and institutions from New York's vibrant performing arts scene are coming up with radical ideas, new spaces, and inspiring projects. PRELUDE '23 asks artists and audiences: Do we need a renaissance to get back to where we were before — or do we need a revolution? The festival will feature a wide array of new work created by artists at the forefront of contemporary theatre and performance, as well as a series of artist talks and panels that put artistic practice in conversation with critical discourse while debating tradition, change, and the ethics and politics of making work in response and relation to racial capitalism, climate collapse, and a new environment for the arts in the 21st Century.

20th year anniversary takes place in 17 Locations with 60+ Presentations.

October 7 – October 22, 2023. Curated by Frank Hentschker. Presented by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, GC CUNY.

SIR ELTON JOHN LISTS HIS HUGE ATLANTA "CONDO" FOR SALE Elton John has been performing in the United States since 1970 when he did his first American concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Elton soon became so busy in the US with his music, television, films and charitable work that he bought a condo in Atlanta as his US base, and eventually added five more neighboring units to expand his Atlanta condo to 13,300 square feet. Elton’s home is now for sale for $5 Million.

British singer-pianist-composer Elton John is the most successful solo artist in the history of the Billboard charts, with more than 50 number-one hits, seven number-one albums, and over 300 million in record sales. John is responsible for such chart-toppers as "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," and "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart," and his tribute to Princess Diana,"Candle in the Wind," is the best-selling single of all time. He has received two Oscars, a Tony, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. The revered artist has recently completed his final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which became the highest-grossing concert series of all time. Now moving permanently to his Windsor, England estate, he is offering the Atlanta condo that has been his US base for thirty years for sale at $4,995,000.

John originally purchased a duplex on the 36th floor of the luxurious Park Place high-rise tower in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood for $925,000, then added five neighboring units over the years to construct his 13,300-square-foot, four-bed, seven-bath residence spanning two floors. The meticulously designed estate features stunning wood walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and 360 degrees of city skyline and western canopy views. Each room has been carefully appointed, with intricate moldings, Greek-style columns, glass-walled staircases, and unique chandeliers. Multiple balconies on all sides of the home offer gorgeous views from sunrise to sunset.

The epic primary suite includes a bedroom with blonde-hardwood floors and floor-to-ceiling mirrors, an onyx-clad bathroom, a sumptuous seating area, and a massive walk-in closet with its own balcony. The kitchen includes stainless-steel appliances and a breakfast bar with seating. The grand two-story salon, impressive two-story dining room, spacious living room, and multiple gallery spaces that housed John’s one-of-a-kind photography collection provide ample space for entertaining in style. Additional features include an in-home fitness studio, a spa/massage room, and three spacious guest suites. Nine reserved parking spaces, six private storage units, and five dedicated wine storage units complete the home.

Known as the “Beverly Hills of the South,” Buckhead is Atlanta’s uptown commercial and residential district known for upscale malls, fine dining, palatial mansions and art galleries. The second wealthiest zip code in the South (losing out only to Palm Beach, Florida), it is home to many of Atlanta’s most successful CEOs, entrepreneurs, and the movers and shakers of its burgeoning entertainment industry.

The listing is held by Chase Mizell of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

JUILLIARD'S MFA ACTING PROGRAM Will Become Tuition Free in 2024. All students accepted into the program will receive full scholarships beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year. All accepted students will have their tuition fully covered via scholarships for the entirety of their study.

It had been a goal since the 2012 establishment of the drama MFA program that it be fully funded. The ability to achieve that dream has been the result of combining existing scholarship funding that had been previously raised with a matching challenge grant from theater producer and Juilliard trustee Stephanie P. McClelland and her husband, Carter McClelland. The McClellands’ matching challenge was met through a major gift from producer John Gore as well as by gifts from the Jacques and Margot W. Kohn Foundation and several estates.

This funding brings to eight the number of College Division programs that are either tuition-free or fully funded by scholarships. The others are the Artist Diploma programs in jazz, music performance, opera studies, playwriting, and string quartet studies; the Doctor of Musical Arts program; and the Historical Performance program. With this new development, more than one quarter of the school’s students will pay no tuition to attend. Overall, more than 90 percent of Juilliard College Division students receive financial assistance through scholarships.

Juilliard’s drama MFA program, the only four-year program of its kind in the U.S., was founded in 2012 by then-Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division James Houghton (1958-2016) with the aim of broadening employment opportunities for students, especially as educators and arts leaders. The fourth and final year of the MFA in acting program has been tuition free since the program’s inception, and fourth-year MFA students will continue to be provided with a living stipend.

In 2021, the Yale School of Drama, another top tier drama program, announced it was going tuition free across due to a $150 million gift from David Geffen.

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has announced an additional $2.129M (€2m) in funding for Irish Arts Center in New York, as part of the government's Global Ireland Strategy. Varadkar, who had been in New York City, for the recent UN General Assembly, said the funding was important to help promote Ireland's unique culture.

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JAMES McKNIGHT has been named New CEO of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group(RUG).

McKnight will take up the role in December, succeeding Charles Farmer, who left the company earlier this year.

The appointment comes after former RUG president of ten years, Jessica Koravos, left her position in April. Her role has been tempoarily filled by Managing Director Jo Quillan and Tim Leist, President of Production and Licensing. The Really Useful Group develops, licenses, and manages the brand strategy for the composer's shows and music around the globe.

McKnight will join the London-based company in December after leading global brand strategy for ABBA songwriter Björn Ulvaeus’ Pophouse Entertainment. He will remain with Pophouse as part of its Investment Advisory Committee.

McKnight also spent seven years as chief creative officer for the Harry Potter franchise at The Blair Partnership, overseeing global strategy and development of the franchise, including partnerships with the teams at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Warner Bros. Discovery.

KA Cirque's first show with a story-line, celebrated its 8,000 show in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 23, 2023. The production opened 18 years ago - in 2005 - at the MGM Resort>

KA is the epic saga of Imperial Twins who embark on an adventurous journey to fulfill their destinies. The Sand Cliff Deck is the main performance space, and accompanies the twins throughout their adventure, emerging from the depths of the theatre and transforming into several landscapes, including rugged mountains and a vertical battlefield. During those 8,000 shows, there have been more than 960,000 fireballs and 720,000 pyrotechnic devices fired, and more than 880,000 arrows shot in the air.

A backstage production is performed by Delta Tau and Tisfoon Ulterior Systems, by providing 24-axis motion control technology with nanosecond capability that moves the Sand Cliff Deck and 2 safety nets into position throughout the production.

The Sand Cliff Deck measures 25x50 feet with a six-foot depth and is supported and controlled by an inverted gantry crane. It weighs 150-tons and rises 70-ft. at the rate of 2-ft/second from the depths of a two-story basement. The Sand Cliff Deck is capable of tilting up to 100-degrees at 2-degrees/sec.

During KA, performers intentionally fall from heights of up to 60-ft. into two safety nets controlled by 18-hydraulic winches. To deploy the safety nets, the operator first moves the winches to a target position. From that point, the winches are placed in tension mode and closed loop tensioning brings the safety nets to their required state.

Due to the massive 2000 seat KA theatre, the fiber optic Delta Tau Macro was utilized since the fiber optic Macro loop easily accommodates large distances while providing electrical noise immunity. Patrons can enjoy the show without technology interrupting the fantasy.

THE SHENANDOAH CONSERVATORY has welcomed Maestro Emanuele Andrizzi as its new artistic director and conductor. He previously was the Music Director of the Opera Festival of Chicago and the music director and conductor of the Cervantes Orchestra of Chicago, dedicated to promoting Hispanic and Spanish Classical music.

As a conductor, Andrizzi has collaborated with esteemed companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Chicago Philharmonic, Orchestra della Città di Ravenna, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Richmond Symphony, Chicago Opera Theater and New Philharmonic.

THE BROADWAY ROSE THEATER in Tigard, Oregon has announced the appointment of Meredith Gordon as the company’s new executive director. She will assume the role on October 2, 2023.

As executive director of Broadway Rose Theatre, Gordon will be responsible for overseeing the administrative, financial, and operational aspects of the theatre company, ensuring its smooth functioning and growth. She will collaborate with Artistic Director Sharon Maroney and Managing Director Dan Murphy on strategic planning and resource management to support the artistic endeavors of the theatre. Additionally, Gordon will cultivate relationships with donors, sponsors, and community partners, actively engaging in fundraising efforts and promoting the theatre's mission.

Gordon comes to Broadway Rose with an MBA from Willamette University and 15 years’ experience developing community partnerships, raising critical funds, and managing board leadership for mission-driven organizations.

THE 2023 WORLD OYSTER CHAMPIONSHIP has been won by British contestant Federico Fiorillo. The 30-year-old, who has worked Richard Corrigan’s Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill in London for nine years, was representing Britain at the annual event. The World Oyster Opening Champion was last won by a British shucker in 2001. The shuckers were required to open and present 30 native oysters as quickly and professionally as possible, before serving their platter to a panel of judges. Known as 'Oyster Boy' to his colleagues, Fiorillo won this year’s 26th British Oyster Championships - adding to previous wins in 2017 and 2018 - to qualify for the World Oyster Opening Championships. The newly crowned world champion learnt his skill from Helio Garzon, the now-retired Chief Oyster Shucker at Bentley’s.

Fiorillo is one of Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill 'Oyster Boys' who shuck over 1000 oysters a day in peak season.

In 2008 The United States Champion Oyster Shucker, William “Chopper” Young, of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, competed for and won the International Oyster Opening Championship in Ireland.

Launched in 1954, the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival is considered one of Europe’s longest-running food events. The prestigious event consistently attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world to sample the famous native Galway oysters.

On the distaff side, in 2022 - for the 4th year in a row - Isabella MacBeth from South Carolina was the women's champion. The "Holy City Oyster Maven" Macbeth, the raw bar manager at French oyster bar Nico, averages five to six oyster shucking competitions a year.



MATILDA: THE MUSICAL written by Dennis Kelly, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl, and original songs by Tim Minchin.

Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Winner of more than 99 international awards, including 24 for Best Musical, Matilda The Musical is now in its twelfth year in London where it continues to delight audiences of all ages. The creatives are: sets and costumes by Tony Award winner Rob Howell, with choreography by Tony Award winner Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Tony Award winner Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Tony Award winner Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and Illusions by Paul Kieve.

Matilda The Musical, the multi-award-winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will come to Dubai Opera in Dubai, UAE October 3-12, 2023.

PARTNERSHIP by Elizabeth Baker.

Directed by Jackson Grace Gay.

Partnership is a story of yearning for more, but Kate Rolling and the women she works with in her small but very smart shop are ambitious to sell more, to earn more, to grow. They are not romantics seeking adventure, they are capitalists seeking expansion. When George Pillatt, owner of the biggest shop in Brighton, proposes a merger on favorable terms—including matrimony—Kate sees an irresistible business opportunity. "Oh, don't worry about me," Kate assures her friends, "I never expected anything great in the way of love."

Partnership offers a refreshing take on the importance of work-life balance. "One of the very few intelligent and, therefore, really interesting plays of the moment is Partnership at the Court, by Miss Elizabeth Baker, author of the memorable Chains. It is the eternal battle of the spirit over the material: … It grips you precisely because it is not a fairy tale," wrote The Stage in 1917.

Starring will be Tony nominated Christiane Noll, Gina Daniels, Gene Gillette and Tom Patterson alongside Joshua Echebiri, Madeline Seldman, and Sara Haider in her Off-Broadway debut. The creative team for Partnership includes Alexander Woodward (scenic), Fabian Aguilar (costumes), M.L. Geiger (lighting), Daniel Baker (sound), Amy Stoller (dialects and dramaturgy), and Stephanie Klapper, CSA (casting).

This is the final play in the acclaimed "Meet Miss Baker" series. It opened last night and runs through November 12th at Theatre Row, New York City.

THE REFUGE PLAY by Nathan Alan Davis.

Directed by Patricia McGregor.

The cast includes: Ngozi Jane Anyanwu, Jerome Preston Bates, Jessica Frances Dukes, Jon Michael Hill, Mallori Taylor Johnson, Lizan Mitchell, Nicole Ari Parker, Daniel J. Watts, Lance Coadie Williams, and JJ Wynder.

Late at night, deep in the woods of southern Illinois, a ghost tells Gail she will die within the next 24 hours. "So begins The Refuge Plays, an epic tale that follows one Black family over 70 years. Written by Nathan Alan Davis, this bold re-imagining of an American "family play" is full of humor, heart and surprises."

The creative team includes: Arnulfo Maldonado (Sets), Emilio Sosa (Costumes), Stacey Derosier (Lighting), Marc Anthony Thompson (Original Music and Sound), Imani Uzuri (Composer and Vocal Soundscapes), and Paloma McGregor (Movement).

The Refuge Plays opens officially on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This is a limited engagement through Sunday, November 12, 2023.

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE YOU written by Nancy Harris.

Directed by Wayne Jordan.

A romantic comedy with a twist, Somewhere Out There You playfully unravels the love stories we weave for ourselves and invites us to question what compels us to tell them in the first place.

He writes poetry! He makes quiche! For once in her life Casey is in a relationship with a man who attends to her every whim and desire. But when her suspicious sister Cynthia starts digging into Brett’s past, she threatens to take away the one good thing that’s ever happened to Casey… Billed as "unashamedly in the genre of romantic comedy - its 'plo'’ centres around someone bringing home her 'hot' new boyfriend to meet her family and no one in her family believing he could possibly be her boyfriend. [...] But it also attempts to wrestle with ideas of truth, roleplay, narrative and how we express our authentic selves in the world, whether as artists or people. And what happens when the world refuses to allow us to do so."

Featuring - Casey: Eimear Keating - Brett: Cameron Cuffe - Cynthia: Danielle Galligan - Eric: Paul Reid- Alan: Enda Oates - Pauline: Lise-Ann McLaughlin Sebastian: Stephen Brennan - Tess: Kate Stanley Brennan- Gareth/Dave/Ensemble: Donncha O'Dea - Ensemble: Teddy Moore, Aisling O'Mara and Jess Kavanagh - Marcus: Harley Cullen-Walsh and Oscar Clancy.

The creatives include: Assistant Director: Dolores Rice. Set Designer: Maree Kearns. Assistant Set Designer: Ronan Duffy. Costume Designer: Catherine Fay. Lighting Designer: Sinéad McKenna. Composer and Sound Designer: Sinéad Diskin. Movement Director: Paula O’Reilly. Casting Director: Sarah Jones. Voice Director: Andrea Ainsworth. Promotional Image Photographer: Sarah Doyle.

Somewhere Out There You runs through November 4, 2023 at the Abbey stage as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, Ireland.

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FINAL OVATION

ARNETT GRANT BENING born May 12, 1926 in Waterloo, Iowa to Erwin W. Bening and Margaret J. Arnett died September 21, 2023. The Board of Trustees and staff of the Entertainment Community Fund issued the following statement - that they are "are saddened by the passing of Arnett Grant Bening, father of our Board Chair, colleague and longtime advocate, Annette Bening. Born May 12, 1926, Mr. Bening lived a long and rich life, and was surrounded by loving family in his last days. We are holding the Bening family in our hearts. Joseph Benincasa, President & CEO. Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chairman, Leadership Council.

He is survived by his wife Shrley Bening. In addition to Annette, he survivors include three other children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

TERRY KIRKMAN founding member of fork-rock group The Association died September 23, 2023 in Montclair, CA from congestive heart failure following a long illness. He was 83.

The group had several hit sons including "Cherish," "Windy," "Along Comes Mary” and "Never My Love."

Kirknab penned the band's Sixties classics "Cherish" and "Everything That Touches You."

The Association was nominated for 6 Grammys.

As a member of the Association, he was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

Kirkman is survived by his wife Heidi, daughter Sasha, son-in-law, and two grandchildren.

SIR MICHAEL GAMBON died peacefully from pneumonia on September 28, 2023 in a hospital in Witham, UK. He was 82.

Sir Michael John Gambon CBE was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four BAFTA Awards.

In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.

The versatile actor, who over the course of his lengthy career played Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and fictional French detective Jules Maigret.

He made his theatre debut in Dublin in 1962 in Othello at the Gate Theatre, and has returned several times since, including a 2010 run in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Gambon was nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards, winning three times for A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), A View from the Bridge (1987), and Man of the Moment (1990). In 1997, Gambon made his Broadway debut in David Hare's Skylight, earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.

In 2004, Gambon played the lead role (Hamm) in Samuel Beckett's post-apocalyptic play Endgame at the Albery Theatre, London. In 2005, he finally achieved a lifelong ambition to play Falstaff, in Nicholas Hytner's National production of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, co-starring with Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Hal.

He replaced fellow actor Richard Harris in the role of Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films.

Gambon married mathematician Anne Miller in 1962 when he was 22 years old. Known for being protective of his privacy, he once responded to an interviewer's question about his wife by asking, "What wife?". The couple lived in Gravesend, Kent. They had one son, Fergus, who later became a ceramics expert on the BBC series Antiques Roadshow.

Gambon brought set designer Philippa Hart, a woman 25 years his junior, to the set while filming the 2001 film Gosford Park and introduced her to his co-stars as his girlfriend. When their affair was publicly revealed in 2002, he moved out of the home he shared with his wife. He was with Hart from 2000, In February 2007, it was revealed that Hart was pregnant with Gambon's child and gave birth to a son. Hart gave birth to Gambon's third child in 2009.

Anne and their son Fergus were at Gambon's bedside when he died.

VEGAS STRONG Remembering those lost in One October.

Next Column: October 8, 2023
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Laura Deni

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