Actress and Comedian Livia Scott hosts this monthly variety show, where dead celebrities are brought back to life and stellar guest performances contribute to the experience of Livia’s Castle of Enchantment at the UCB Theater East.

I attended Livia’s Castle of Enchantment on Tuesday, April 24, and was pleasantly taken on a whirlwind as Livia morphed into the dead celebrity of the evening: Mike Wallace. Livia’s portrayal as Mike Wallace was as respectful as it was funny and had the crowd laughing throughout the show, highlighting her skills in stand-up, improv, and impersonation.

Livia (ahem … Mike Wallace) was joined by three special guests: Mike Milazzo, Bamboo Silva, and Seaton Smith. These acts were woven throughout the show, giving each performer a space in which to shine, while being incorporated into the total experience of the evening’s enchantment.

Seaton Smith did a riotous comedy set, enthralling the audience with his edgy humor, thoughts, and observations.  Mike Milazzo and Bamboo Silva rocked the theater with solo acts, and then collaborated in an improvisational jam that had the audience shouting with excitement and electric applause. As Livia said, “the ferociously heartbreaking guitarist + Bronx beatboxer beyond Thunderdome = together they’re unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

Overall, Livia’s Castle of Enchantment is a fun, organic variety show. Each month brings a new dead celebrity host via Livia and amazing guest acts to round out the experience. The show starts by 7:30 and lasts about an hour. At only $5, you won’t want to miss this kind of enchantment.

More about Livia Scott:

Livia is an actress, comedian and character powerhouse who’s appeared on Law & Order, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, the Comedy Central series Honesty, the upcoming feature film Snatched as Andrew McCarthy’s nurse and she pulls a Peter Sellers by playing about 7 different roles in National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie directed by Christopher Meloni.

She’s an ensemble player in The Shushan Channel by writers from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart with guest appearances by Will Forte, Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, John Oliver and Joel McHale, and MEAT, the critically acclaimed all-female sketch phenomenon hailed as “One of the nation’s best groups” by THE ONION.

Livia also writes for MIRTH Magazine, hosts the celebrated variety experience Livia’s Castle Of Enchantment at UCB and is a double ECNY Award nominee for Best Emerging Comic of the Year and Best Solo Show for Goodnight, OJ, her adaptation of real letters written to OJ Simpson which ran for a year at UCB and was directed by Baron Vaughn.

She’s been featured in The New York Times, Backstage, The New York Post, The NY Daily News and The Apiary.

Livia won the 2011 Channy Award for Best Villain in a Web Series & the 2010 Channy Award for Best Actress.  She was recently named “One Of Our Favorite 53 Female Comedians” along with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler & Sarah Silverman by THE HUFFINGTON POST.

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Even casual readers of The Happiest Medium know that when it comes to Company XIV and Austin McCormick I am reduced to a screaming fan-girl.  I am older, of course -not a girl, so my screaming is done on the inside (most of the time), but when it comes to this neo-baroque dance ensemble everything about them makes my heart race, my temperature elevate and my eyes tear up. Every time I walk through the doors of the theatre at Bond Street I shiver with antici ————————-pation about what will greet me – for here I have seen the most dazzling pieces of multi-media theatre I have ever experienced.  EVER.

This week Company XIV has been holding a workshop where Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and guest instructors have been showing gifted dancers the Company XIV way.   I will be moderating a discussion with Austin from 1.15pm-3pm tomorrow, Friday, March 9 at the Company XIV studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn. If you’re free, come on down.  If you’re busy – break your plans.  Because after you read this, you’ll want to see this man in person.

I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on the workshop Tuesday afternoon and even though I was there for hours the time flew and my mind raced as I was captivated by what I saw unfold before me.  This opportunity was like a dream come true – akin to (I can only imagine) being able to go to spring training if you love baseball.  It’s watching your idol, your hero, behind the curtain, in the process of creating magic in a way that few ever get to experience.

I wish I could spend every day with Laura Careless and Austin McCormick.  Theirs is a world so opposite of mine – the world of breathing, movement, communing with your core – yourself, your space.  My world is about sitting, observing and then writing — hoping that my words adequately translate what I’ve experienced in a way that tantalized the readers.  And even though I meet dozens of people doing what I do, and even though I am part of a community and a team, it is rare that my actual work involves anyone other than me.

For anyone who has ever seen a Company XIV show there can be no question —  there is an energy, a type of spell that falls over the space where they dance, binding performers to audience.  McCormick (who conceives, directs and choreographs all his shows) blends eroticism with beauty, each movement somehow conveying ecstasy and anguish at the same time. It’s bitter and sweet – it’s longing and loss wrapped in joy and celebration.  Every time. Every time.

Very often when you meet your heroes they are so much less in person than they are from afar. They disappoint by being less spectacular up close – less of the magical creatures  you see from your seat in the dark.  Not so the members of Company XIV. Laura Careless, Sean Gannon and Austin McCormick are gorgeous in person – and I don’t mean on the spectrum of beauty, though they have that as well.  They are gorgeous because they shine with talent, with energy, with enthusiasm for what they do, and the eagerness to share it.  They glow with vitality, they glimmer with the fire that comes from doing what you love to do, and doing it well every time. They are warm, welcoming … they capture you with their spirit in person as much as they do from the stage.

On Tuesday I took my spot and first watched Laura Careless teach a class. I see something I can hardly put into words begin to happen; her class is beautiful and smooth, with moments of sudden release,  all done in this almost reverent environment of Austin’s studio/performance space.  The ambiance is as captivating as the class, beautiful old chandeliers light the room, coupled with natural daylight streaming in through the skylight.  The class takes place amid what’s left of the Snow White show I saw just a short while ago – a silver tree, glowing orbs of light.  It is both a dramatic effect and yet completely commonplace, for this (as I said) is 303 Bond street where everything is stunning.

I watch Laura’s class – her gestures are free, gorgeous, wild.  There was falling to the floor and springing to the feet, bouncing, twirling; with movements which students were interpreting  in their own style – some open and unrestrained, some tight and precise, but somehow all fitting together and looking amazing.

Laura ended her class with a meditation, one where each student was guided to thank their body for allowing it to give so much.  This simple gesture took my breath away; we often don’t thank ourselves for our own talents, we often don’t recognize what we do for ourselves, the gift we give ourselves.   And of course this gave me a moment to silently thank these dancers for giving me so much as well; perhaps they felt my thanks, perhaps they only felt the energy that increased in the room.

There was a break, but dancers dance.  Even between dancing, they dance.  They may not even know they do it, but dancers always dance.  I love that.

Up next was Austin’s workshop and here’s where I got to watch the master at work.

I work with words.  Words are fixed and I know what to expect from them, although I am often surprised by how a subtle pairing or combination will shade the meaning, giving a nuance I didn’t expect.  I love to play with words and find that sweet spot.   Austin McCormick has something  much more amazing and organic to work with of course, and because human beings are living and breathing and moving, they can contribute to his internal vision.  Watching Austin as he watched his vision come alive was an experience I’ll never forget.

He is sure and precise but completely at ease.  This is his element, there is no hesitation, no second guessing, no frustration.  With the help of  Laura  they take the dancers through the routine slowly at first. At times it’s so exquisite that it’s like hearing a word whispered slowly in French.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a dance class, this is a true workshop: a place where ridiculously talented people are learning the XIV way.  So I shouldn’t be astonished at how quickly the dancers pick up the spellbinding choreography, but I am.

It’s wonderful to be able to see how these pieces come to life, to see Laura talk through the movements alongside Austin.  She speaks automatically and without hesitation. She says things like “on your hands, BAM!, thread your knee, roll back, extend back with arch” She speaks with as much ease and grace as Olivier recited Shakespeare … “Slip, cross, step, grab leg, bring it in, hand to face”.

While I don’t pretend to ever have been a dancer – not even a 3 year old weekend jazz/tap baby – I can’t help but think that Austin has created a language all his own.  I listen as he directs the dancers to move with words like “snippety … to the heart” There’s a deep poetry to it that would put e.e. cummings to shame.  There are words like Ninja Ladies, Picture, Open Heart, Cowabunga. I love how it sounds. I love more how it looks.  I love most how it makes me feel.

Writing this story was easy; surprisingly so – it was as if Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and Sean Gannon had gotten hold of my hands and were choreographing my fingers.  I sat alone, up high in the bleachers, like a fly on the wall, watching these dancers and letting the creativity boomerang around the room, allowing it to somehow capture me in the energy as well.  Like a medium who goes into trance, I watched for hours and when I came home later that night and read what I’d written it was like I was reading my words for the first time.  Which proves my theory.  This  ability Austin McCormick has to create magic transcends dance. It reaches out and embraces, influences, and inspires all manner of artists, be they singers, dancers, actors or writers — of fiction or of fact.

I’ll end with a snippet of a song that was being played in the studio at some point while I was there. Again, simply because dancers dance even when they aren’t dancing, I couldn’t tell if they were on a break or working out a routine.  Of course it didn’t matter … and this song will tell you why:

When I was 12 years old, my father took me to the circus, the greatest show on earth.

There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears

And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.

And as I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle

I had the feeling that something was missing.

I don’t know what, but when it was over,

I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a circus?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is

If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing

Let’s break out the booze and have a ball

If that’s all there is

~~~

I leave you once more with a reminder that tomorrow you’ll have a chance to attend the discussion I will be moderating with Austin McCormick 1.15pm-3pm on Friday, March 9 at the Company XIV studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn.

See you there!

Related Posts:

• Company XIV – The Workshop You’ve All Been Waiting For …
• Nutcracker Rouge – The Way The Nutcracker Should Be
• The Fairest Of Them All: Company XIV – Snow White
• The Halloween Plays – Three Bursts Of Fire, Fear And Fantasy
• She’s Mad But She’s Magic: LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE

If you read THM with any frequency you already know that I am a HUGE fan of Austin McCormick and his amazing Company XIV. What comes out of the 303 Bond Street Theatre is almost impossible to describe – because how can you describe the way your life is changed, over and over again?

The Company is now taking things to the next level with their Workshop (full information after the jump) which will take place March 5-10, 2012. Space is limited so I urge you to take a look at the schedule and see if you can join Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and Sean Gannon who all made this marvelous workshop possible. During the week fantastic instructors will take you through Repertory Classes (know what it feels like to be a Company XIV member), Lucid Body Classes (open to actors as well as dancers) and Gaga Classes (no! NOT Pokerface! This is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin).

I’m also thrilled that THM will be intimately involved in bringing this Company XIV workshop to you: I’ll be doing an exclusive two-part series on the website and you won’t want to miss it.

I’ll start off a few weeks before the workshop with an in-depth article, then I’ll follow that up with an on-the-scene report. Best of all – I’ll be moderating a panel discussion with Austin McCormick himself (Friday March 9th 1:15 – 3:00). That panel is open to the public and admission is by donation, so give what you can. You won’t want to miss hearing the man himself answering some fantastic questions – I know I can’t wait to hear what he has to say!

So, check out the information below, sign up, mark your calendars … and get ready to have the time of your life with COMPANY XIV!

Company XIV Workshop March 5th-10th, 2012 Company XIV invites you to join us for a week of workshops at our studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn, New York. From March 5th-10th company members, guest teachers and Director and Choreographer Austin McCormick will introduce participants to the Company XIV movement and style through a week of classes designed to hone the specific dance, theatre and stylistic skills featured in the company’s work. Workshop Schedule Monday (March 5th) 10am-11am: Registration (Studio available for warm-up) 11:15am-12:30pm: Gaga  (Bobbi Smith) 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-4:30pm: Lucid Body  (Fay Simpson) 5pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Tuesday (March 6th) 9:30am-10am: Studio available for warm-up 10am-12:30pm:Lucid Body  (Fay Simpson) 12:30pm-1:30pm-Lunch Break 1:30pm-3pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7:30pm- Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Wednesday (March 7th) 10am-11am: Warm-up/ Registration for open class 11am-12:15pm- Gaga. (Bobbi Smith) 12:15pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-3pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Thursday (March 8th) 9:30am-10am: Studio available for warm-up 10am-12:30pm:Lucid Body. (Fay Simpson) 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break 1:30pm-3:30pm: XIV Company Class  (Laura Careless) 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Friday (March 9th) 10am-11am: Warm-up/ Registration for open class 11am-12:15pm: Gaga  (Doug Letheren) 12:15pm-1:15pm: Lunch Break 1:15-3pm: Interview with Austin McCormick 3:30pm-7pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick . Saturday (March 10th) 11am-11:45am: Warm-up/Registration for open class 11:45am-1pm: Gaga. (Doug Letheren) 1pm-2pm: Lunch Break 2pm-6pm: Repertory/Creation rehearsal with Austin McCormick 7pm-8pm: Showing  (Open to public) Class descriptions   Repertory Experience a day-in-the-life of a Company XIV performer with this series of classes with Company XIV Choreographer and Director Austin McCormick! Austin will teach and coach XIV repertory and also create original choreography to give each performer an individualized and educational experience. This series of classes will result in the creation of a piece and culminate in an informal performance for invited guests. Dancers of all backgrounds and actors with a strong sense of their own physicality are encouraged to attend, and all participants must be present for the duration of every session. The Lucid Body class on Monday 3/5 is a mandatory pre-requisite for this class as Austin will be drawing upon vocabulary from the technique.   Lucid Body The Lucid Body technique (www.lucidbody.com) was created by Yale School of Drama Faculty Member and author of “The Lucid Body; A Guide for the Physical Actor” Fay Simpson as a physical training method for actors, and has been invaluable to Company XIV performers as a path to opening the body to the expression of every human potential. Based on the premise that each body holds the potential to experience every human condition, Lucid Body technique is a safe and deep psycho-physical process of introspection, exertion and mental challenge. Classes will build upon each other. The class on Monday 3/5 is a pre-requisite for the Repertory workshop.   Gaga We are honored to host Batsheva Dance Company members Bobbi Smith and Doug Letheren to teach Gaga as part of the Company XIV Workshop. Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout his work as a choreographer and Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company in Israel (www.batsheva.co.il/en/). Classes (all 1 hr 15) are offered on a single class basis, or as part of the Full Workshop schedule as the emphasis on an instinctive and individual experience of movement is a great preparation for Company XIV work.   Company Class Taught by Company XIV founding member Laura Careless, this class is both an ideal preparation for the repertory class that follows and a well-rounded class in itself. Join XIV dancers for a 1hr 45 class that combines yoga, dance technique and energy work in an approach to movement that is formally structured yet places equal emphasis on sensation. A dance background is recommended for this class, which can be attended on a single class basis as well as part of the Full Workshop schedule. With live music.   Interview and Discussion with Austin McCormick An informal discussion with Company XIV’s Founder, Director and Choreographer moderated by Karen Tortora-Lee, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of the website The Happiest Medium (www.thehappiestmedium.com). Open to the general public and entry by donation.   Class options Registration is required for ALL classes. Space is limited. (Please see below for details on how to register.)   Full Workshop: $300 All classes including participation in studio showing on Saturday 3/10   Repertory Only option: $200 All repertory workshops including pre-requisite Lucid Body class on Monday 3/5 and participation in studio showing on Saturday 3/10   Lucid Body Class Course: $65/$40 for Repertory participants 3 classes with Fay Simpson, creator of the Lucid Body technique.   Single Classes (Gaga and Company Class only): $15   Registration Please email Laura@CompanyXIV.com the following: Name Date of birth Email Phone number Headshot and resume Choice of class option (If open classes, please specify date)

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As part of the Board of Directors of MTWorks I’m really proud to be involved with the National Newborn Festival. Part of my job was to help choose the Excellence in Playwriting Award (see below for the winner!) and this year I’ll be introducing one of the plays — but I won’t tell you which one!  You’ll just have to come join me at the festival.

So what is Newborn?

Now on its sixth year, The National NewBorn Festival is MTWorks playwriting competition and flagship program created to find talented emerging playwrights from across the US, introduce their work to the New York community, and open new doors to regional voices.

READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS CLICK HERE
(OR VISIT http://tinyurl.com/72h4jfw)

February 2-4, 2012
The City College of New York (map)
North Academic Center, 160 Convent Avenue  New York, NY
First Floor Lecture Hall (1/202)

THE 2012 PLAYS & SCHEDULE

Thursday, February 2nd at 7pm

The Tragedy of Dandelion by Duncan Pflaster, directed by Leah Bonvissuto, produced by Jessica Thornhill.

The Tragedy of Dandelion follows a Princess named Dandelion, who attempts to escape, by dressing as a boy, a forced marriage to Ratliff, a man who raped and impregnated her. She collaborates with Prince Crispin, son of Queen Alice, telling him that the baby is his, to gain a place in that kingdom and while waiting in the Queen’s orchard, meets the Queen’s daughter, Princess Cèlie, and shares a kiss with her. She gains a place in Alice’s kingdom, till Ratliff and her father King Stephano, come to Alice’s palace and point out that Dandelion is a female, and drag her away. A new lesbian verse play by Duncan Pflaster.

Friday, February 3rd at 7pm

Denny and Lila by August Schulenburg, directed by Tom Wojtunik, produced by London Griffith.

After her husband Marcus divorces her for their much younger maid Lucia, Mary turns to the con artist team of Denny, Lila and Jabber for revenge. They take the job, with Denny pretending to be the Neruda-quoting electrician ‘Fred’ to seduce Lucia; and Lila pretending to be the daffily charming British novelist ‘Mara’ to seduce Marcus. All goes well until Denny develops an unexpected connection to Nettie, Mary and Marcus’ manic-depressive daughter.

Saturday, February 4th at 5pm *Excellence in Playwriting Award Winner*

The Excellence in Playwriting Award is bestowed by the MTWorks’ Board of Directors. The board selects the winner before the festival takes place and is not influenced by the work the director and actors are achieving at the readings.

Absinthe by Joe Musso, directed by Dev Bondarin, produced by Martha Goode.

It’s July 1900, and a race riot has engulfed New Orleans, sparked by a black man killing two white policemen. At first, the violence on the streets is far removed from the genteel parlor of Grace Newman, a blind white woman cared for by her house servant, Curtis, a former slave owned by Grace’s father. Grace and Curtis’s relationship is forged by respect and compassion. However, their true feelings for each other must remain hidden from Grace’s racist brother Henry, a Civil War vet who fought for the South and who is hell-bent on bringing justice to a black man who killed two white policemen. As a race riot in the streets unfolds, Grace and Curtis’s relationship unravels.

Saturday, February 4th at 8pm *Resident Reading*

On Egdon Heath adapted by David Stallings from Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native directed by Glory Kadigan, produced by David Stallings.

Award-winning playwright David Stallings’ adapts one of the most powerful works of famed author Thomas Hardy, “The Return of the Native”. The ensemble of townspeople On Egdon Heath will take you on a journey of love, passion and folklore, centered around the beautiful and mystical Eustacia Vye. Her hunger for escape and a devastating twist of fate will affect the lives of the Yeobrights, the Wildeves and the heart of the heath.

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If Christmas in New York could be found on the map I think most people would agree that its address would be Rockefeller Center, filled as it is with the tree and the giant decorations, and the fabled City of Radio … where Rockettes dress up as reindeer and dance their little hearts out, doling out Christmas Miracles to the tourists one high kick at a time.

I’d seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular a number of times as a child but it was never a family tradition, so therefore it wasn’t something that got scheduled into the season as much as, say, hanging the stocking by the chimney with care or riding in a one-horse open sleigh (oh what fun!).  So it wasn’t till around 25 years later, when some out-of-town visitors were staying in NYC for the first 2 weeks of December (“Nothing like shopping on 5th Avenue for Christmas presents!” they cried, credit cards extended), that my family decided it was about time to get ourselves back to the show.  After all, it can’t all be Coach wallets and Tiffany trinkets … you’ve gotta have a LITTLE good ole fashioned NYC theater in there somewhere.  And, say what you want, WICKED is a fine, fine show, but nothing says Christmas like the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  (It’s in the ACTUAL NAME).  Since that day around 5 years ago, I actually found myself back in that audience a number of times, always finding some reason to be there. It adds a little touch of holiday magic to the otherwise pushy, shove-y, where-the-heck-did-I-drop-my-glove-y midtown area.

First of all, there’s nothing like that first step you take into Radio City Music Hall … it’s so much of a time warp that you had better wear lace-up shoes for fear that the WHOOSH of Christmas Past knocks you out of your Manolos.  (Or Bruno Maglis, for you fellas).  And although I’m a good 2 or 3 feet taller than I was the first time I set foot in that movie theatre, it’s amazing how small that place still makes you feel.  With New York City real estate what it is these days, space that has the luxury of a ceiling THAT HIGH is reserved for places like the Met, or the Met … or the actual outside.

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Now, let’s be clear … when people go to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, they may SAY they’re going in order to enjoy the whole 90 minute show, but really, unless the Rockettes are standing across the stage in a line, kick, kick, kicking their way to Christmas, it’s all just a waiting room.  No one cares about the Nutcracker sequence, that Parade of Santas, or the actual ice skaters skating on actual ice … and The 3-D movie (put your special glasses on … NOW!) that starts the whole thing — of Santa swooping through the city making his way to Rock Center like a mile-high cabbie  — is fun, but nothing your local I-Max couldn’t give you. Just like everyone suffers through the first parts of Handel’s Messiah waiting for the Hallelujah Chorus, so everyone waits and waits at Radio City for the famed Wooden Soldiers number (which has been a crowd pleaser since 1933) and claps like mad every time those Rockettes break apart and join back up into another formation.  “Yay!”  and “Wow!”  and other exclamations can be heard all around the Music Hall,  people are dazzled and the audience is electrified.  This builds and builds until the big cannon goes “boom” … and then, there they are, all those Rockettes in their Wooden Soldier outfits, falling down like really really really slow dominoes, while the orchestra ad-libs a downward arpeggio until the last Rockette lands on her well-toned little butt.  Thunderous applause … it could end here, but there’s another whole bunch of show to watch.

Well, now, let’s not be too hasty.  As much as I like to pretend I’m a cynical New Yorker with a hard candy shell, nothing chokes me up like that Living Nativity scene at the end (also one of the few scenes that still exists from the original 1933 production) when all the shepherds, angels, and camels come from miles around (or … you know, backstage) to honor that “one solitary life”.  Even if you’re not a Christian, the message is still a powerful one … that any one, no matter how humble the beginnings, no matter how limited the means, and no matter how difficult the path, has the ability to change the world for the better.  Cue music.

Then, just as you’re about to get all quiet and thoughtful (is THAT any way to celebrate Christmas?) they wrap it all up in Swarovski crystal and silver (get your light sticks out … NOW!) and the whole things ends with a big shiny sparkly glow.  You wander out into the middle of Christmas, happy and sated, and all baked up like a gingerbread cookie.  Okay, enough of that … Now go get those credit cards out, these presents aren’t going to buy themselves!

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is currently running until December 30th; most days have 4 performances with up to 6 performances on the weekends, but check the calendar for available dates and times.

Related Posts:

• Radio City Christmas Spectacular
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A benefit concert is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ghar Sita Mutu - “House with a Heart” – a charity that offers a children’s home, a children’s learning center, a women’s training center, and a family outreach program to those living in extreme poverty in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Ghar Sita Mutu Benefit Concert

The Ghar Sita Mutu Benefit Concert is on Monday, November 14 at the Theatre for the New City. 155 First Ave, NYC.  8 pm – 11:30 pm. Suggested donation at the door is $15. There will be performances by musicians, actors, and comedians, including Anacoustic Mind, Khaled Dajani,  Michael Birch, John Grimaldi, Mike Milazzo, Mark Normand, Sharon Jane Smith, Lord Lorax, Cathryn Lynne, and Sagar Bhatt.

Ghar Sita Mutu

While on a trip in Nepal, NYC resident Beverly Bronson found two children, Krishna and Babu, aged five and two, huddled in front of a tin hut after being abandoned by their mother. Beverly tried to help the children find a home, and in doing so, was faced with an opportunity to help others in a very direct, immediate, and positive way.

Beverly Bronson

Nepal is a country struggling with poverty and political instability. The per capita income is just $322, and there is no government safety net for citizens. Few charitable groups operate where so many people are in need.  Ghar Sita Mutu was founded as a non-profit, NGO (Non-Governmental Organization)  by Beverly Bronson in 2001 to help the women and children of Nepal.

The status of women is low in the society, contributing to frequent abuse and abandonment of wives and children. Few employment opportunity exist for women and childcare is not available; sometimes babies are shut up in a room, left alone for long hours. It is not unusual to see children too young to even care for themselves left in charge of their younger siblings. Children as young as five are indentured.

Countless children live on the streets of the capital Kathmandu, having run away from indentured servitude or been abandoned by parents. Education is not compulsory and only families who can afford to do so send their children to school.

Programs at Ghar Sita Mutu

Children’s Home. Ghar Sita Mutu provides a safe, loving and enriching home for up to 20 children. The children attend a local school with the tuition paid for by sponsors. The home also provides employment for several local people, including a house manager, part-time gardener and watchman.

Children at Ghar Sita Mutu

The Children’s Learning Centre provides daily classes for children whose parents can’t afford to send them to school. Forty children are currently served in the program.

Women’s Training. Free sewing, knitting, felt making, and candle making classes are taught to local women, who in turn are making items that are marketed mainly in the U.S. Many women don’t have time to take the classes because they must earn a living, so a program has been started, where some women are paid to take classes five days per week with a goal of making the women self-sufficient.

Family Outreach Program. Ghar Sita Mutu provides emergency help to families in need, as well as more formal charity programs such as our Goat Project, which provides a goat to a family to raise and breed, helping them to raise their standard of living.

The Story of Baby Abhaya

by Beverly Bronson on Saturday, September 17, 2011

Today Dev Kala, one of our staff members, came rushing into the house saying ‘Mummy Mummy, come quickly. You must help!’ She took me to a small room where there was a two day old baby girl and mother with two older children sleeping on the floor in a tiny room. The mother gave birth in the room and has not seen a doctor. She planned to throw the baby away today and go back to her village.

Baby Abhaya

I have promised help but all she wants to do is throw/give away her baby. I am checking with my lawyer whether or not we can take her into our home. The state orphanage has stopped taking in new children. The baby needs to be seen by a doctor, but the mother refuses to take her to the hospital. Baby was naked, wrapped in a shawl. She has an eye infection and is not eating. Mother is trying to feed the baby cold milk with a spoon out of a cup. I insisted the mother put baby to breast for the colostrum telling her I would not take her if she didn’t. I bought some meat and milk for the mother, and eye medicine and bottle for the baby and promised to return tomorrow.

How can I take more kids when I am struggling to support the ones I have? How can I leave her there to be thrown on the rubbish pile on the mother’s way out of town …

Read Beverly’s account of the days and weeks following the dramatic rescue of Baby Abhaya here.

How you can help

If you would like to help Ghar Sita Mutu in their efforts to enrich the lives of the children and women in Kathmandu, Nepal, please visit the Ghar Sita Mutu website, where you can donate and purchase handmade gifts online.

Also, you are invited to attend Ghar Sita Mutu‘s upcoming events:

Ghar Sita Mutu Benefit Concert on MONDAY, NOV 14 at the Theatre for the New City. 155 First Ave, NYC.  8 pm – 11:30 pm. Suggested donation at the door is $15

Ghar Sita Mutu 10th Anniversary Party. SUNDAY, DEC 18 at Dixon Place. 161A Chrystie St (Between Rivington & Delancy), NYC. 5 pm – 10 pm

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Temperatures were rising last night at the first evening of the two part celebration for Doc Wasabassco’s 7th Anniversary Extravaganza. The blazing hot belles were ravishing, revealing and  resplendant as they strutted, sauntered and slowly stripped their way across the stage of The Bell House last night.

But that was only part of it.

As promised the place was crammed with every type of seductive, suggestive, steamy, spicy, slinky thing you could imagine. Lady Scoutington warmed up the crowd on the main stage with some get up and go-go dancing while out in front Peekaboo Pointe was Pole Dancing and doing things I’d only heard of whispered about in certain circles. She was mesmerizing to say the least.

Side tables were selling wares that would make any fan of burlesque giddy with excitement – gorgeous stockings from PEEK were avaliable as well as pasties handmade by Nasty Canasta herself!!  Undoubtedly I had to get myself a pair – for research purposes of course!  In homage to Ms. Canasta I got a pair of Vegas inspired pasties replete with poker chips, cards and sparkly stones.  I can’t wait to … ahem …  I mean … wow.  Those sure will look nice on my … display shelf.

Speaking of pasties once the main show got started there was no shortage of them.  After a wonderful welcome from the man of the hour himself, Doc Wasabassco, and a full-on intro by Bastard Keith (who warmed up the crowd with amusing tales and a soulful rendition of Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness” that was absolutely awe-inspiring) things got right down to business.

Hazel Honeysuckle started off the festivities with a fantastic number that featured a gorgeous blue ensemble that came off slowly to a lounge version (which was almost unrecognaizalbe until the chorus) of Ice, Ice Baby.

Following her was Magdelena Fox who didn’t disappoint as she disrobed her exotic feathered costume and shook fans that flew through the air and appeared to set her ablaze, so quickly did the red and yellow material stream and blur.

Bird of Paradise used elaborate props to re-create a Flashdance flashback, starting off dressed as mechanic and ending up as a dripping wet 80s dancer.  What a feeling!

Precious Little proved she had a Precious Lot … bedecked in white feathered finery, she unbuckled her corset and spun a hoop of white plumes around to roars of approval.

Medianoche then came out and did her typical mezmerizing, teasing absolutely alluring dance complete with huge red fans and twinkling eyes.  She had the audience spellbound.

Then it was time for the PEEK stocking fashion show featuring Hazel Honeysuckle, Bettina May, Tansy, Nasty Canasta and Medianoche before the crowd took a break.

At this point, knowing I was going back again tonight, I decided to call it an evening so that I would be ready to greet the new wave of Burlesque that I knew would knock my socks off again. (But just my socks, kiddies).

Tickets are still available for what I KNOW will be another amazing night, and there’s plenty of room in The Bell House to enjoy the show. So come down early, watch the lovely ladies, buy some items, and enjoy some of the best entertainment Burlesque has to offer as you help the Wasabassco group celebrate seven terrific and successful years!

~~~

Wasabassco Burlesque’s 7th Anniversary Extravaganza will be hosted by Doc Wasabassco, Bastard Keith, GiGi La Femme, Nasty Canasta, Sapphire Jones, and Stormy Leather.

Doors will open at 9pm

With performances by: Albert Cadabra, Amanda Whip, Amber Ray, Bastard Keith, Bettina May, Bird of Paradise, BooBess, Broadway Brassy, Bryan Barletta, Emmy Dubois, Evelyn Vinyl, Gal Friday, GiGi La Femme, Go-Go Harder, Grace Gotham, Hard Corey, Harvest Moon, Hazel Honeysuckle, Jenny C’Est Quoi, Kita St. Cyr, Kobayashi Maru, Lady Scoutington, Lauren Liberman, Madame Rosebud, Magdalena Fox, Mala Morrigan, Marlo Marquise, Medianoche, Hula Hoop Harl*t Melissa-Anne, Michelle L’amour, Ms Tickle, Nasty Canasta, Nelson Lugo, Nikki Le Villain, Peekaboo Pointe, Pixie Love, Precious Little, Sapphire Jones, Stormy Leather, Tansy, The Outer Borough Brass Band, Victoria Privates, and Vikki Likkerish.

Tickets $25 are available by clicking  SATURDAY

or by calling TicketWeb at 1-866-777-8932

The Bell House

149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Aves)

Brooklyn, NY 11215

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• Revealed Burlesque Lives Up To Its Promising Name
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On GiGi La Femme
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If you’re any kind of regular reader of THM then you know that around here we sure love Burlesque.  Lucky us!  Living in New York City as we do, there is no shortage of fantastic Burlesque performers who constantly and consistently have us hooting and hollering and calling out for more.

Doc Wasabassco by Leland Bobbe

If you, too, are a lover of Burlesque then the name Doc Wasabassco is not new to you.  You’ve no doubt seen the Wasabassco name plastered across any number of posters, or perhaps have seen the man himself as he introduces one of his amazing shows.

This weekend marks the Seventh Anniversary of Wasabassco Burlesque. To celebrate, Friday, November 4th and Saturday, November 5th Brooklyn-based Wasabassco Burlesque will present over 40 of Wasabassco’s favorite performers, with over six hours of risqué entertainment guaranteed to blow the roof off The Bell House in Brooklyn.

Among other things there will be a stocking fashion show, a pole dance show-within-a-show, performances by the Outer Borough Brass Band along with striptease, hula hooping, fire eating and more.

Doc Wasabassco took some time to answer a few of my questions before I head out to the big event which begins tomorrow.

You’re living every man’s dream, surrounded by beautiful women who are masters at charming, beguiling and seducing. What part of your job is actually just like any other and what part of your job defies expectations?

Doc Wasabassco: Haha, Well the part that ends up being just like any other is probably the office logistics. For every two hour show there are days of answering emails, dealing with paperwork, filling out spreadsheets, having meetings, making phone calls, all of the dull monotonous stuff involved in any job, but it all does pale in comparison with the stuff that defies expectations. My favorite moment is when the first number of any given show starts: when the lights go up, the music starts, the house is packed and there are suddenly smiles on the faces of the crowd, everything lights up and everyone shares in the knowledge that something amazing and sexy and fun is about to happen.

You advertise as “sexy, couple-friendly burlesque shows full of risqué fun, spicy shenanigans, and plenty of saucy striptease”. I have been to a few of your shows with my husband and I do agree … it’s great for couples. What ingredients go into making a show that appeals to everyone as opposed to one that’s just for the guys?

DW: The art behind Wasabassco is created by each performer, and most of those performers are women; female performers using their sexuality in whatever way they choose to entertain, to tease or inspire but always to tell some kind of story. Male and female audience members respond to that before anything else and then the sexuality is presented from a place of respect. There’s so much more to a burlesque number than just showing tits and ass (though there’s plenty of that too).

You’re about to celebrate your seventh year of Wasabassco Burlesque with a huge Extravaganza. As a showman producer of Burlesque and Nightlife Events, what’s at the heart of a terrific night of burlesque?

DW: Variety. I don’t even mean variety acts like magic and sword swallowing though that’s always a welcome addition as well. I mean variety in types of performers and style. A good burlesque show has classic numbers as well as modern ones. Sensual numbers, comedic numbers, performers with different backgrounds, body types, different talents and character. There are so many amazing talented people in burlesque, if you put the right ones in the right combination you get that terrific night.

What are some things about the business that have gotten easier since you’ve started … and what’s remains the biggest challenge?

Doc Wasabassco by Luke Ratray

DW: Putting together a great show has gotten easier. After 7 years we know what works and what doesn’t, what audiences will like and what they won’t, and we know how to spot something new and exciting so that we keep growing and never stagnate. The biggest challenge remains working on other people’s turf. We have fantastic relationships with some of the best venues around, but it’s always a challenge to work in someone else’s space. The goal is eventually for Wasabassco to have it’s own Burlesque House.

The women (and men!) you work with come from a variety of backgrounds, they all have different performance styles and on-stage personalities. But there must be a common quality that makes you say to yourself ”That’s the type of performer I want to be part of the Wasabassco family”. Can you put that quality into words?

DW: They need to be amazing. It’s that simple. One performer can be dark and mysterious and another light and fanciful. So long as they’re both great at what they do I want them in my show. I never want to limit Wasabassco to one style or type, but I don’t have any room for mediocrity.

The Wasabassco Hellfire Club is billed as “The Dirty and Dark Side of Wasabassco”. There are Keys to get in that cost 40 dollars. It all seems a little “Eyes Wide Shut” … but much better of course. What makes Hellfire Club different than the other shows?

DW: Ha Ha, yes, much better than “Eyes Wide Shut”. Less boring for one thing, and fewer Scientologists. As we’ve discussed, Wasabassco is always couple friendly, it’s just that some couples enjoy being a little freakier than others. That’s who the Wasabasco Hellfire Club is for. My co-producers for Hellfire Club are Stormy Leather and Nasty Canasta. Stormy’s the dirtiest girl I know and Nasty’s incredibly sexy and brilliant. We get to cross a line with this show that we wouldn’t usually with other Wasabassco shows because Stormy and Nasty are leading the way, and I trust them implicitly. The Wasbassco show is designed to turn you on, brain first.

You’ve had seven great years, with more ahead. What’s the most innovative thing you can imagine doing in Burlesque over the next few years?

DW: Opening our own club, a dedicated venue with a beautiful stage, plenty of seating, and the ability to host all kinds of performance, from aerial artists to fire performers, with plenty of ample storage for giant props and elaborate numbers.

Doc, I can’t wait to see it!  I know if it has your name on it then it will be something special.

_______________

But in the meantime, I’m going to be at The Bell House to help the Wasabassco gang celebrate their wonderful success – seven years of being the hottest, best Burlesque Show On Earth!  See you there!!

~~~

Wasabassco Burlesque’s 7th Anniversary Extravaganza will be hosted by Doc Wasabassco, Bastard Keith, GiGi La Femme, Nasty Canasta, Sapphire Jones, and Stormy Leather.

Doors will open at 9pm

With performances by: Albert Cadabra, Amanda Whip, Amber Ray, Bastard Keith, Bettina May, Bird of Paradise, BooBess, Broadway Brassy, Bryan Barletta, Emmy Dubois, Evelyn Vinyl, Gal Friday, GiGi La Femme, Go-Go Harder, Grace Gotham, Hard Corey, Harvest Moon, Hazel Honeysuckle, Jenny C’Est Quoi, Kita St. Cyr, Kobayashi Maru, Lady Scoutington, Lauren Liberman, Madame Rosebud, Magdalena Fox, Mala Morrigan, Marlo Marquise, Medianoche, Hula Hoop Harl*t Melissa-Anne, Michelle L’amour, Ms Tickle, Nasty Canasta, Nelson Lugo, Nikki Le Villain, Peekaboo Pointe, Pixie Love, Precious Little, Sapphire Jones, Stormy Leather, Tansy, The Outer Borough Brass Band, Victoria Privates, and Vikki Likkerish.

Tickets ($25each night/ $40 for both nights) are available  by clicking FRIDAY or SATURDAY

or by calling TicketWeb at 1-866-777-8932

The Bell House

149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Aves)

Brooklyn, NY 11215

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• Revealed Burlesque Lives Up To Its Promising Name
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Doric Wilson passed away May 7th of this year.  Some may know him as an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist. Others may know him as the founder of TOSOS (The Other Side Of Silence) which was the first professional gay theatre company.   But to many he was much, much more … and so to honor this man A Celebration of the Life of Doric Wilson will be held on Monday, October 10th at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher St., New York City, from 6-8pm. The event is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

Alex Bond was one of the many people who was able to experience Doric Wilson in a personal way.  Today she shares a tribute she’d written not long after his death which highlights how the energy of this man shone over her and how privileged she felt for the few months she was able to share with him.

Dear Friends of Doric,

The first time I saw Doric Wilson was when he made his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award at the Fresh Fruit of Distinction Awards in July 2010. He was so charming, intelligent, witty and irreverent (four of my favorite qualities in a human being) that I gathered up my courage (I am extremely shy) and emailed him. I hoped some day to meet him.

To my great delight he emailed me back. He said that he had gone to my website and found out I was the niece of Sudie Bond. “You look a bit like her”, he noted after seeing a posted photo. He and Sudie had been great friends, part of the Albee /the Caffe Cino crowds. In fact, Doric “loved” (his word) Sudie and wished that they could have worked together professionally.

Emails continued to fly between 9th Avenue and New Jersey and back; and within a few weeks, Doric invited me to a show at LaMama where I had the pleasure of meeting Mark, Jamie and Tari. Then, the TOSOS readings became a part of my calendar; and soon after, Doric asked if I would join the acting company of TOSOS. I said “yes”… and from that point on I was unable to say “no” to Doric Wilson.

One wonders why certain people come into one’s life for only a short time, why these momentary flashes of brilliance must end just as one is getting accustomed to the light.

Doric was a shooting star who embraced me (and my husband), tried to guide me out of my comfort zone, and urged me to “lighten up”.

He also introduced me to those of you to whom I am writing… another gift indeed. I wanted you to know that I am so blessed to have met you through Doric. I am honored to have spent time with this man who was so influential in the advancement of Off-Off-Broadway and LGBT theatre.

I share your loss, dear friends of Doric. And I envy your longer associations with him. But let it be shouted from the rooftop at the Eagle that I am so grateful for the ten months that he was in my life.

Alex Bond

~~~

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Monologues! Comedy! Improv! Ukulele music!

Friday, Sept. 2nd, 7-9pm

–> Bowery Poetry Club <–

Hosted by award-winning playwright Monica Bauer (Outstanding New Script, MITF 2008; nominee writing for Best Solo Show, Planet Connections 2010; finalist, Heideman Award).

Performers include:

• playwright Monica Bauer performing the Breast Pride Movement from the Diet Monologues
• John Fico performing a monologue from his critically acclaimed performance in Made for Each Other
• Duncan Pflaster, master of the Broadway Ukulele
• and others!

–> Open Mic sign up at 7 pm <–

Admission $8 (includes one free raffle ticket for a $100 Amazon.com Gift Certificate that will be raffled off that evening!)

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• The Taint Of Equality, Or I Want Your Sex – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• The 2012 National Newborn Festival Is Almost Here!