this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

GIFTS OF LIFE: PROFILES IN COURAGE FROM THE TRANSPLANT COMMUNITY (online premiere and live Q&A)

Gifts of Life

Gifts of Life documentary highlights the stories of three organ transplant recipients

Who: Shelby Caban, Jack Cloonan, Jennifer Lentini, Doug Housman, John Redican, Joy Oppedisano, Michael David Drucker
What: Online film premiere and live discussion/Q&A
Where: Zoom link available here
When: Wednesday, May 13, free (donations accepted), 8:00
Why: After being selected for the Queens World Film Festival, the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York, the Hell’s Kitchen NYC Festival, the Point Lookout Film Festival, and many others and being named Best Documentary Short at the Big Apple Film Festival, Michael David Drucker’s Gifts of Life: Profiles in Courage from the Transplant Community is having its online premiere May 13 at 8:00 over Zoom, where the thirteen-minute film will be screened, followed by a live discussion and Q&A. The beautifully photographed work shares the stories of two women and one man who are alive today because of organ donations: Shelby Caban, Jack Cloonan, and Jennifer Lentini, who all feel an obligation to live life to the fullest in tribute to the people who donated their organs upon their tragic deaths. “There’s an uncommon level of gratitude among organ recipients. They have the utmost appreciation for their donors and for every moment of their extended life. It’s an inspiration to hear their stories of struggle and resilience,” Drucker says in his director’s statement.

They also are all giving back to society in their own ways. In making the film, writer-director Drucker (The Copper Cowboy, Inside My Life on the Spectrum) teamed up with LI TRIO and Hearts for Russ, two organizations leading the fight to increase awareness and funding for organ transplants. “The numbers for New York are horrific compared to any other state for registered organ donors,” Lentini says in the documentary, a poignant fact especially now that we’re in lockdown because of the coronavirus. The live Q&A will feature Caban, Cloonan, Lentini, Drucker [ed. note: Drucker is a close childhood friend of mine], executive producers Doug Housman and John Redican, and producer Joy Oppedisano. The event is free, but donations are accepted, pun intended.

LOVE FROM BAM: BAM Virtual Gala 2020

bam virtual gala

Who: Cate Blanchett, Jeanne Donovan Fisher, Zadie Smith, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Julie Anne Stanzak, Hope Boykin, St. Vincent, DJ Eli Escobar
What: BAM Virtual Gala
Where: BAM website
When: Wednesday, May 13, free (donations accepted), 8:00
Why: BAM’s annual gala cannot be held in person this year in Brooklyn, so it will instead take place virtually, and everyone is invited; it’s free to watch live, although donations are accepted, with 10% of the proceeds going to the Brooklyn Hospital Center. The 2020 honorees are two-time Oscar winner and Tony nominee Cate Blanchett, producer, investor, and philanthropist Jeanne Donovan Fisher, and award-winning novelist Zadie Smith. Paying tribute to the trio are Grammy winners Brooklyn Youth Chorus (who will sing a Philip Glass composition dedicated to Fisher), Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch’s Julie Anne Stanzak (who will dance a solo that will be filmed by Nathalie Larquet in tribute to Blanchett), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Hope Boykin (who will present a short film for Smith), St. Vincent (whose appearance can only be seen live; it will not be rebroadcast), and DJ Eli Escobar (who will host a living room dance party), all of whom have previously performed at BAM. “Moving to an online, virtual format gives BAM an exciting opportunity to open its gala experience to a wider audience, pay tribute to our amazing honorees in new ways, and gather the arts community in a challenging time. We are excited to share this unique experience as part of our current digital Love from BAM programming,” BAM president Katy Clark said in a statement. The gala also marks the beginning of BAM’s annual online art auction.

SIGNATURE THEATRE: ARTS LUNCHES / SigSpace SUMMITS

sigspace

Who: Anna Deavere Smith, Michael Urie, Michael Benjamin Washington, Arthur A. Gianelli, more
What: Live online conversations on Wednesdays and virtual lunch discussions on Fridays
Where: Signature Theatre Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Zoom
When: Wednesdays at 5:00 (advance RSVP required for Zoom link), Fridays at noon, free
Why: With arts venues dark, the Signature Theatre is hosting a series of livestreamed events during the pandemic. On Wednesdays at 5:00, SigSpace Summits features a pair of experts discussing life in the age of coronavirus; the program got under way May 6 with two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and author and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg discussing art and mindfulness and continues May 13 with Pulitzer- and Tony-nominated playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith — who played a hospital administrator on Nurse Jackie — talking about public health matters with Mount Sinai Morningside president Arthur A. Gianelli; advance RSVP is required for the Zoom link if you are interested in asking questions. Friday Arts Lunches kicked off April 17 with director Saheem Ali and Lupita Nyong’o, followed by members of the cast of Octet on April 24, Francis Jue with David Henry Hwang on May 1, and Crystal Dickinson, Brandon Dirden, and Jason Dirden on May 8. For the May 15 edition, the inimitable Michael Urie (Angels in America) will interview Michael Benjamin Washington, who starred in Smith’s Fires in the Mirror this past fall at the Signature. “Since our lives are currently upended by isolation, we are eager to get a head start on SigSpace by reimagining how to connect with our artists and audiences online,” Signature artistic director Paige Evans said in a statement. “Until we can interact again in our beloved physical space, come interact with us in our virtual space – as we navigate this difficult moment in history together as a community. Once we can gather again in person, we’ll be thrilled for SigSpace to activate our lobby in unique ways for the Signature family while also giving new artists and communities a home with us.” You can catch all the previous shows here.

OVID-19: THE INTERSECTION OF RACE, ART, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND MEDICINE

nyla

Who: Bill T. Jones, Khary Lazarre-White, Carrie Mae Weems, Dr. Aletha Maybank, Jamilah Lemieux
What: Panel discussion sponsored by NewsOne and the Brotherhood/Sister Sol (Bro/Sis)
Where: NewsOne Facebook page
When: Wednesday, May 13, free, 3:00
Why: NewsOne, which focuses on “current events and their impact on black lives,” will be hosting a live discussion on May 13 at 3:00 titled “Covid-19: The Intersection of Race, Art, Social Justice, and Medicine.” The free event features legendary dancer-choreographer and New York Live Arts artistic director Bill T. Jones, social entrepreneur, writer, activist, and attorney Khary Lazarre-White, visual artist Carrie Mae Weems, and American Medical Association chief health equity officer Dr. Aletha Maybank discussing Covid-19 and its effect on black life in America; the conversation will be moderated by writer, speaker, and communications consultant Jamilah Lemieux.

SILENT MOVIE MONDAYS: ONE WEEK / COPS WITH PAUL DOOLEY

Paul Dooley gives a talk about Buter Keaton at Retroformat Los Angeles (photo courtesy Retroformat)

Paul Dooley gives a talk about Buter Keaton at Retroformat Los Angeles (photo courtesy Retroformat)

Who: Paul Dooley, Cliff Retallic
What: Livestreamed classic silent movies with special guests
Where: Retroformat Facebook page
When: Monday nights at 10:30, free with RSVP
Why: Retroformat in Los Angeles has teamed with Flicker Alley LLC, Lobster Films, and Blackhawk Films to present #SilentMovieMondays, livestreamed screenings of silent classics on Facebook, with live musical accompaniment by Retroformat musical director Cliff Retallick, special guest lecturers, and Q&As. On May 4, they showed Max Linder’s 1921 Seven Years Bad Luck and had a talk with self-described “cinevore” Serge Bromberg. On May 11, the great Paul Dooley, the ninety-two-year-old star of stage and screen, including such films as A Wedding, Breaking Away, Popeye, Cars, and Sixteen Candles, will be on hand to talk about Buster Keaton, who will be featured in one of his all-time best, One Week, about a pair of newlyweds and their new home, as well as Cops, in which he gets in trouble with the LAPD. Dooley, who refers to himself as “a household face” and was the cocreator of the long-running children’s show The Electric Company, considers Keaton his hero; he played a Keystone cop in one of Keaton’s 1964-65 Ford Econoline commercials. Retroformat, whose “sole mission is to educate and inspire enthusiasm for the art and history of silent film,” will continue the series during the pandemic shutdown with future titles and guests to be announced.

RED BULL THEATER: RemarkaBULL PODVERSATIONS / CORIOLANUS

coriolanus

Who: Red Bull Theater company
What: Conversation about William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, live online unrehearsed reading of play
Where: Red Bull Theater website and Facebook Live
When: Monday, May 11 and 18, free (donations accepted), 7:30
Why: No other New York City theater company has taken advantage of livestreaming during the pandemic shutdown like Red Bull has. The troupe, which specializes in Elizabethan and Jacobean comedy and tragedy, has been hosting events on its online sites every Monday night at 7:30, alternating between RemarkaBULL Podversations, in which actors discuss famous speeches, and live, unrehearsed Zoom readings with the original casts of previous Red Bull productions. On April 13, Michael Urie took on the “Queen Mab” speech from Romeo & Juliet, followed April 27 by Elizabeth Marvel tackling Mark Antony’s “Cry Havoc” monologue from Julius Caesar. Meanwhile, the company held live reunion readings of John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore on April 20 and Ford, Thomas Dekker, and William Rowley’s The Witch of Edmonton on May 4. (While the podversations can still be viewed on the website, the readings are available only through the Friday of that week.)

podversation

Red Bull now turns its attention to the Bard’s Coriolanus, which it staged in the fall of 2016 at the Barrow Street Theatre in a dynamic production set during the Occupy movement that I wrote was transported to “up-to-the-minute contemporary times in a fast and furious immersive adaptation bursting with passion and energy.” On May 11 at 7:30, the podversation “There Is a World Elsewhere” delves into two speeches from the play, with Dion Johnstone, who starred as Cauis Martius, and Lisa Harrow, who played Volumnia, in conversation with Red Bull associate producer Nathan Winkelstein. And nearly the entire original cast will be back on May 18 for a live, unrehearsed reading, with Matthew Amendt as Tullus Aufidius, Zachary Fine as Titus Lartius, Rebecca S’Manga Frank as Virgilia, Harrow as Volumnia, Merritt Janson as Brutus, Johnstone as Cauis Martius, Aaron Krohn as General Cominius, Patrick Page as Menenius Agrippa, Olivia Reis as Young Martius, Lily Santiago as Valeria, Stephen Spinella as Sicinius, and Edward O’Blenis in multiple small roles, along with composer Brandon Wolcott, all performing from wherever they are sheltering in place. Both events are free, but donations are accepted. Up next will be Zoom reunion readings of Red Bull’s 2005-6 version of Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy on June 1 and Jeffrey Hatcher’s fab 2017 adaptation of Gogol’s The Government Inspector on June 15.