February 2017
We have some very special events coming up in
February before the start of our regular theatre
season.
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Friday, February 10
@ 7:30
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Saturday,
February 18 @ 7:30
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Friday, February 17 @ 7:30
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 Photo: Janet Kushner |
Saturday February 25 at 7:30pm
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“Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom” Comes to Catskill for Black History Month
In celebration of Black History Month, an
electrifying first-hand account of the 1965 march
from Selma to Montgomery takes the stage at
Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre on February 10, 11,
and 12. “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom” tells
the moving, true story of one of the youngest
participants, Lynda Blackmon, who struggled
nonviolently alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. to
help secure the right of African-Americans to vote.
Jailed nine times before her fifteenth birthday, her
stirring and inspiring tale lets audiences of all
ages experience the courage it took to help change
American history.
Originally developed at
Fiorello LaGuardia High School for Music, Art, and
Performing Arts in NYC, this stage adaptation of
Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s award-winning book for young
readers is directed by actress, author, director and
teacher Ally Sheedy and powerfully performed by
dynamic young actress Damaras Obi.
“Turning
15 on the Road to Freedom” will be presented on the
Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage for four
performances only – Friday February 10 at 7:30pm,
Saturday February 11 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and
Sunday February 12 at 2:00pm. Regular tickets are
$20, $10 for Students, and can be pre-purchased at
BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006.
Tickets will also be sold at the door 45-minutes
prior to each performance on a space available
basis. To make arrangements for special group rates,
call 518-943-3894. The theatre is located at 44 West
Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY.
Performance Calendar
Loire Valley
Theater Festival (Miranda Barry and Neal Grover,
Producers) presents
TURNING 15 ON THE ROAD TO
FREEDOM
My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights
March
by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
with Damaras
Obi as Lynda Blackmon
directed by Ally Sheedy
Friday February 10 at 7:30pm
Saturday
February 11 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm *
Sunday February
12 at 2:00pm
* The Saturday performances will be
followed by a talk-back with author Lynda Blackmon
Lowery, actress Damaras Obi, and director Ally
Sheedy.
Tickets:
General Admission
$20, $10 for Students
Advance tickets available
at
BrownPaperTickets.com
or by calling 1-800-838-3006
Tickets can also be
purchased prior to each performance on a space
available basis.
For Group Rates call
518-943-3894
Bios:
Lynda Blackmon Lowery (Author)
was the youngest of the 300 marchers to make the
full, historic march from Selma to Montgomery which
eventually led to the passage of the 1965 Voting
Rights Act. Her account of that march, “Turning 15
on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma
Voting Rights March”, was selected by the American
Library Association as one of 2015’s five top
nonfiction books for young adults, was cited as a
Kirkus Best Book, a Booklist Editor’s Choice, a BCCB
Blue Ribbon Book, and was the recipient of a the
prestigious 2016 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book
Honor. She currently works as a case manager at a
mental health center and still lives in Selma,
Alabama.
Damaras Obi (Lynda Blackmon) is
a 19-year-old published author, actress, director
and singer. She studied Drama at Fiorello H.
LaGuardia High School for Music, Art, and the
Performing Arts in NYC.
Ally Sheedy (Director) is an
actor, author, and teacher. Her first film role was
opposite Sean Penn in “Bad Boys” (1983). Since then
she has appeared in over 50 film and television
projects, notably “War Games”, “The Breakfast Club”,
“St. Elmo’s Fire”, “Short Circuit”, “High Art” (Best
Actress – Independent Spirit Award, LA Critics’
Award, National Society of Film Critics’ Award),
“Life During Wartime” (directed by Todd Solondnz,
Gotham Award nomination), and “Full Circle” (Neil
LaBute writer/producer 2013). Ally played the
character ‘Yang’ in the series “psych” from 2009 to
2014 and appeared Off Broadway over the summer of
2014 in “The Long Shrift” directed by James Franco.
She has two books and several essays and articles
published, is the proud mom of Beck Lansbury, and
co-teaches film/theatre classes with junior and
senior students at LaGuardia High School for the
Arts in NYC.
Links to previous press
coverage:
WAMC Public Radio
An
hour-long interview with Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Ally
Sheedy, and Damaras Obi. Originally planned by Joe
Donohue for 12 minutes, he devoted the entire hour
to the story and we had audience from as far away as
Springfield and New Jersey as a result.
(http://wamc.org/post/turning-15-road-freedom-performance-hudson#stream/0)
Rural Intelligence
Feb 9,
2016
A wonderful front-page article on a
newsletter with a circulation of about 4,000 in the
region
http://ruralintelligence.com/index.php/arts_section/arts_articles_theater/turning_15_on_the_road_to_feedom
Albany Times-Union
Feb 9,
2016
A short Article about the show for their
online listings
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Civil-rights-story-portrayed-6779712.php?cmpid=email-desktop
Albany Times-Union
February
6, 2016
A big feature article in the
Weekend Arts page
http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-features/article/Turning-15-on-the-Road-to-Freedom-to-be-6807320.php
Register Star
February 14,
2016
“One-Woman play about Voting Rights draws
Sold Out Crowd
http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_0d440746-d2ac-11e5-90ff-9f4d80a785e5.html#.VsEroSZEWKY.email
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A Magical Weekend at
Bridge Street Theatre
Friday February 17 at 7:30 pm, Dan ‘EvilDan’ Terelmes presents a brand new one-man show called “Mind Myths” that demolishes preconceived notions about mentalists and the mind reading process. Appropriate for audiences ages 12 and over, "Mind Myths" contains plentiful humor and audience participation alongside astounding feats of clairvoyance.
Saturday
afternoon February 18 at 2:00 pm, EvilDan will
be joined by his sidekick Colleen the Sideshow Queen
to present their raucous
“Psychic
Sideshow” which features
sideshow stunts, carnival cons, magic of the midway,
miracles of the human mind and much more – safe, fun
family entertainment. Bring the kids!
General Admission for either show is $15, $10
for Students age 21 and under, and tickets go on
sale when the doors open 30-minutes prior to each
performance.
Colleen the Sideshow Queen and Evil Dan. Colleen the Sideshow Queen began her entertaining career at the age of fifteen when she landed her first gig as "Bingo the Clown" at a local Ground Round restaurant. There she performed magic, juggled and delighted the guests with her face painting skills. EvilDan began his career at the age of thirteen when his grandmother began teaching him how to read palms. Later that year, he found that a magic shop had opened in a nearby town. He was bitten by the bug and his destiny cast in stone. Through the years, Colleen and EvilDan advanced their studies. Colleen quickly became known in the Albany, NY area as the one to hire when they wanted a clown, juggler, stilt-walker, magician, face painter, or balloon animal twister. EvilDan formed the group Trinity with two fellow performers and performed séances and their special brand of "bizarre" magic up and down the East Coast. Colleen and EvilDan met at a magic convention in 2004. They both took a workshop on sideshow skills given by world famous sideshow performer, Todd Robbins. They immediately formed a friendship and soon thereafter began performing together. Their first gig was on the Spooky World stage at The Ultimate Terrors haunt in Altamont NY. The friendship grew and in 2008 EvilDan uprooted himself from New Jersey and moved to upstate NY. The first week in NY Colleen and EvilDan got a call to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Since then they've performed together and separately all over the upstate NY area.
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Saturday evening
February 18 at 7:30pm and Sunday afternoon February
19 at 2:00pm
Cons,
Cheats & Scams –
The Extraordinary Card Magic of
Jason Ladanye
One of the world’s top card magicians,
the devastatingly handsome Mr. Ladanye dazzles
audiences with close-up sleight of hand,
demonstrating just how easy it can be to win in
Vegas – if you’ve got the skills. Hosting for and
performing with Mr. Ladanye will be Sean ‘The
Prankster’ Magician of Windham. While the show
contains nothing inappropriate, it is geared (with
its gambling theme) toward a more sophisticated
audience. Tickets are $20, $10 for Students age 21
and under, and go on sale when the doors open
30-minutes prior to each performance. “Cons, Cheats
& Scams” is being presented in Catskill in
conjunction with Windham Magic.
Jason Ladanye
has been performing card magic since the age of
seven, when he was first inspired by the artistry of
David Copperfield. He has recently returned from a
west coast performance and lecture tour. The
highlight of the tour was performing at the
prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, California,
whose mission is the promotion and advancement of
the magical arts. To perform at this exclusive club,
following in the footsteps of such masters as Dai
Vernon, Harry Blackstone, David Copperfield, David
Blaine, and Chris Angel, was the fulfillment of a
childhood dream. When not practicing, Jason performs
card magic at Resort Casinos such as Turning Stone,
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and at corporate events
for Fortune 500 companies including Fuji Films,
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and
General Motors. In 2004 and 2010, Jason Ladanye
represented the United States at the prestigious
International Magic Convention held in London,
England. He has appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and Inside
Edition exposing card cheating scams. In 2013, Jason
released his first book, “Confident Deceptions”,
available worldwide.
Sean “The Prankster” Magician of Windham, New York performs throughout New York State at festivals, resorts and private events. Sean has most recently been the opening act in Saratoga Springs for “America’s Got Talent” Rubik’s Cube sensation, Magician Steven Brundage, who was a semi-finalist on that television reality show in 2016.
Tickets are $20, $10 for Students aged 21 and under. All tickets at the door, available one half hour before each show.
Hi, Are You Single?
Ryan has a higher sex drive than you. He also has cerebral palsy. Following a pair of standing-room-only performances at the Public Theatre’s recent Under the Radar Festival and overflow crowds and standing ovations in two separate engagements at Dixon Place in NYC, Ryan Haddad’s hilarious and touching “Hi, Are You Single?” comes to Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre for two performances only, February 25th and 26th. The show has adult themes and is recommended for audience members 16 and older.
Photo: Ian Boyle
Society generally assumes that people with
disabilities possess no sexual drive or desire. Ryan
shatters this misconception as he attempts to
navigate the gay dating pool, searching for love
with equal parts humor and hurt, and finding plenty
of discrimination and intolerance of difference
within an already marginalized community. Ryan hits
the clubs and bars ready for glamour and excitement
but soon realizes that his cerebral palsy makes him
an outsider. The men he meets force him to confront
his insecurities and examine his own judgmental
behavior. But hey, not everything is so serious!
Grab a margarita and say hi to Ryan on Grindr. Give
him a kiss if you’d like. There’s no need to be shy.
HI, ARE YOU SINGLE? Teaser from Ryan Haddad on Vimeo.
Bios:
Ryan J. Haddad
(Playwright/Performer) is an actor, writer,
and solo performer based in New York. He graduated
Cum Laude from Ohio Wesleyan University in May with
a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Creative Writing.
His Ohio Wesleyan theatre credits included “Urinetown:
The Musical”, “A Little Night Music”, “The Fairy
Queen”, “8”, and “Ring Round the Moon”. The senior
capstone production of his autobiographical solo
show “Hi, Are You Single?” earned him Ohio
Wesleyan’s 2015 Excellence in Performance Award.
“Hi, Are You Single?” explores the complicated
intersection of romance and disability from Ryan’s
perspective as a gay man with cerebral palsy.
Following packed houses at NYC’s Dixon Place, the
HOT! Festival, and the Williamstown Theatre
Festival, “Hi, Are You Single” played two sold-out
performances in January as part of the Public
Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival. In New York he
has also performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre
Club and the New Museum and has been featured in the
television sitcom “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”.
Ryan was a member of Williamstown Theatre Festival’s
2014 Apprentice Company, for which he received the
VSA/Rosemary Kennedy Scholarship for performers with
disabilities and appeared as Bradley in “A
Scavenge”. He returned in 2015 to Williamstown to
teach a workshop in Autobiographical Storytelling
and Solo Performance and in 2016 as a member of the
Non-Equity Company where he presented “Hi, Are You
Single?” as well as playing Claire in Jean Genet’s
“The Maids” and The Ferryman in the world premiere
of Lucy Thurber’s “Orpheus in the Berkshires”. His
short plays “Left Behind” and “Art Unfinished” were
both produced at Ohio Wesleyan, and “Art Unfinished”
subsequently became an American College Theater
Festival regional finalist. In addition to plays and
performance pieces, Ryan has written numerous essays
and directed the short documentaries “Julia” and
“Lovability.”
Laura Savia (Director)
is the Associate Director of Williamstown Theatre
Festival, where she recently directed a community
engaged World Premiere of Lucy Thurber’s “Orpheus in
the Berkshires”. Directing credits include “The
Recommendation” (IAMA – Ovation Award, Best
Production), “Bareknuckle” @ Gleason’s Gym
(Vertigo), “Unstuck” (59E59), “Red Flamboyant” (Firebone),
“The Mnemonist of Dutchess County” and “Heads”
(Theatre Row), “Red Light Winter” (Itself Festival
in Poland), “Letters to Santa” (Naked Angels),
“House Strictly Private” (1st Irish), “The Color of
Justice” (Theatreworks), “The Lover” (The Drama
League), “Last Days of Judas Iscariot” (Strasberg
Institute); short plays for Labyrinth, Ars Nova,
Partial Comfort, 24 Hour Plays; Workshops at the
Public, Roundabout, Atlantic, Second Stage, Primary
Stages, Playwrights Realm, Ma-Yi. Assistant director
of Broadway’s “The Merchant of Venice” starring Al
Pacino. On faculty at Fordham University,
NYU/Strasberg Institute, and The New School. Alumna
of Northwestern University and the Drama League
Directing Fellowship.
