The members of Artists Without Walls honored Hanora O’Dea Kilkenny last week for her commitment to the arts, multiculturalism and Artists Without Walls. She and her husband, Noel Kilkenny, Consul General of Ireland, will be greatly missed. Our loss is Athens, Greece’s gain. We wish them all the best.
The following article appeared in this week’s Irish Echo. To read, click on the article below.
Who’s the doorman in the Jordan/Derek Jeter “Re2pect” commercial? None other than friend and Artists Without Walls’ member Jack O’Connell.
.
.
Today, Sunday 2pm, Honor Molloy and Jack O’Connell will be reading from Pat Fenton’s “Stoopdreamer” at Farrell’s Bar located at 16th St and 9th Ave in Brooklyn in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood where “Stoopdreamer” was born.
Tonight, Sunday, April 13, 7pm, singer/songwriter Salina Sias will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1, 196 Allen Street in NYC. Also performing with Salina will be guitarist Thad DeBrock and cellist Noah Hoffeld.
“What an honor to perform for Artists Without Walls – truly. The audience – everyone was so warm and welcoming.” Actress and playwright, Erin Layton
–
Connie Roberts began the evening with a reading of two poems from her Patrick Kavanagh Award winning poetry collection, Not the Delft School. The first poem, The “Potato Picker,” which draws its inspiration from Jean Francois Millet’s iconic painting “The Gleaners,” depicts the stoicism of a poor farmer (her father) in 1970s Ireland, who continues to pick potatoes as the TV rental man repossesses the unpaid black and white television. Her second poem, “Wounds,” is a darker portrait of her father, a violent alcoholic, who perpetrates a heinous act against her mother.
Honor Finnegan followed, Connie, belting out a soulful, “Down So Long” by Bobby Darin. She also sang a piece of her own called “Swimming,” which, as Honor said, “Is Irishy and therefore tragic and beautiful.” The perfect “Honorism.”
–
Playwright/performer Erin Layton performed a riveting and emotional scene from her award-winning one person, multi-character drama, MAGDALEN based upon the true stories of the women and children who labored in Irish Catholic workhouses operated by nuns in the mid-twentieth century. Erin seamlessly embodied and transitioned between four of the eight characters in her solo play, introducing us to a pair of nuns and two of the child laborers one of whom is severely crippled and cannot manage the labors demanded of her.
Karl Scully, former member of the Irish Tenors, who has performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and hundred of venues internationally, wowed the audience with two songs. The first song “McBreens Heifer” was written by Percy French, the second “Knocknashee” a modern day Sean Nos creation written by Brendan Graham and Neil Martin.
The Catahoula Cajun Band, with Julie Winterbottom on accordion, fiddler Deborah Monlux, Frank Luschinsky on bass and vocalist and guitarist Michel Henry provided the entertainment during intermission. The group performed Allons a Lafayette, Lacassine Special and more. The root and spirit of their music stems from Cajuns whom played at home gatherings, clearing out all the furniture and bringing in musicians who would play until early in the morning in celebration of life, or “la joie de vivre.” The music was uplifting and spirited and a had a few of the audience “clearing out the furniture” and dancing across the floor.
The second half of the evening began with the opening pages of Joseph Goodrich’s short story “The Ghost of Brooklyn Past,” which was expertly read by Jack O’Connell. Jack found all the warmth and pathos of Goodrich’s story and proved once again what a superlative actor he is.
–
Bernard Smith closed out the evening with an original song called “Sandy” named for devastating 2012 storm. In one short day (the day after the storm) Bernard woke up displaced as well as losing his car to the salty sea. All over the Rockaway
Peninsula and Long Beach he saw devastation and thus he was inspired to write a song about it, bearing witness to what he’d lived through. The second song he sang was “The May Morning Dew,” a story about the Irish diaspora. The song is a lament from a man in the winter of his life, remembering vividly the old homestead, a place and a people he will never see again.
The next Artists Without Walls’ Showcase will be at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St., March 26, 7pm. For more info about Artists Without Walls and becoming a member contact info@artistswithoutwalls.com
Tonight promises to be an incredible Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell Theatre. A few performers were not available due to the change in date from Monday night to tonight but we have been able to schedule some wonderful replacements. Karl Scully, born in Ireland and brought up internationally, was for six years a member of the famous international group The Irish Tenors and performed with them as a soloist in over a hundred venues in Europe and the USA as well as hosting the 10 part TV show The Irish Tenors and Friends. As a soloist, Karl has performed in hundreds of venues all over the world including Carnegie Hall and the Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Centre New York; Wolftrap Mainstage, Virginia; Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, Italy; and The National Concert Hall, Ireland. He also starred as Count John McCormack in the cinematic film Nora starring Ewan McGregor. His operatic roles include: Don José in “Carmen” by Bizet; Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly”; The Duke in “Rigoletto” and many other leading tenor roles. You wont want to miss this great talent.
We often say we have the best intermission in town…well grab yourself a drink, and get ready for the sounds of old-time Louisiana style porch music…practical comfortable and simple in design; songs with nostalgic finishing touches that provide a comfortable respite and opportunity to dance during AWoW’s intermission. Come hear and dance to the Cajun Trio of Julie Winterbottom, accordion, Deborah Monlux, fiddle and Michel Henry, guitar.
And the rest of the lineup? Simply great. Erin Layton will be performing a scene from her one woman play, Magdalen, a play about finding one’s voice in the void. The void being the place where identity and beauty and language are stripped away. This void is what the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland were to the young girls and women who labored in the commercial workhouses operated by religious orders of nuns in Ireland from the 19th – 20th century. Erin’s Magdalen won the Best Documentary Script at the Fourth Annual United Sol0 Festival Awards Ceremony.
Guitarist Ann Klein has toured in Europe consistently for 10 years, played house concerts in the US and has written music for a number of documentaries. As a guitarist, Ann was a featured soloist with Ani DiFranco on several shows; she has had the honor of playing, writing and recording with Kate Pierson of the B-52s, Joan Osborne, Dana Fuchs, Darden Smith, PM Dawn, Randall Woolf & Maurice Sendak (for a ballet of “Where the Wild Things Are”), Keri Noble, Of Ann, Billboard magazine said, “.…a dynamo guitarist and writer.”
Joseph Goodrich is an award-winning playwright and the editor of Blood Relations: The Selected Letters of Ellery Queen, 1947-1950. His nonfiction appears frequently in Mystery Scene Magazine.Tonight the masterful actor Jack O’Connell is going to read the opening pages of Joe’s short story “Ghost of Brooklyn Past”.
Rounding out the evening will be another outstanding talent, singer, Bernard Smith. Bernard hales from Dublin, Ireland and arrived in NYC in the summer of 1996. He in an actor who has inhabited various characters on numerous stages throughout New York and he has been singing songs and playing his
guitar ever since he arrived. Maybe he’ll do his great version of “Georgia.” And maybe there’ll be a few more surprises as well..perhaps a great poem or two or a short film clip, anything’s possible. This will be a great evening. Join us at The Cell, 338 W 23rd St. NYC, 7pm. This a free event courtesy of Artists Without Walls.
Actor Jack O’Connell appears in the Coen Brothers’ new film Inside Llewyn Davis, which opened in select theaters on December 6th. The film opens nationwide on December 20th.
Aedin Moloney and the Fallen Angel Theatre Company invites you to a reading of Desert Lullaby by Jennifer Johnston at the Irish Arts Center, 553, W. 51st St, 7pm. Directed by Mark Shanahan. Featuring Fiana Toibin, Nicola Murphy, Penny O’Brien, Fergal Titley and Aedin Moloney. ADMISSION FREE. Fallen Angel is a “not for profit” company and greatly appreciates your donations. To make a donation please check out their website. Fallen Angel Theatre Company RSVP info@fallenangeltheatre.org
Honor Finnegan is appearing as a special guest for the Just One Angel 2 Tour, at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher Street, NYC, Monday, December 9th, 7pm. Honor will be sharing the stage with Christine Lavin and Uncle Bonsai. Aviv Roth will be on guitar. Tickets’ $20. Two drink minimum For tickets click here
“Eloquent writing, beautiful voices, charismatic performers who connected with each other — it was an inspired evening.” Justine Blau, author of “Scattered: A Mostly True Memoir,” after attending “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement” at Lehman College.
On Tuesday night, The City & Humanities Program, in conjunction with the CUNY Institute of Irish American Studies and the Department of African American Studies at Lehman College, presented writer/creator Charles R. Hale and a brilliant cast of Artists Without Walls’ members in “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement” a multi-media event incorporating storytelling, film, photographs and music.
The evening began with Honor Finnegan’s rousing performance of Jack Hardy’s “Aint I A Woman,” a song borne of Sojourner Truth’s speech on gender inequalities. Actor Jack O’Connell followed with an introduction in which he quoted author John Steinbeck: “We learn a great deal about people by listening to their music. Listen to their songs, for into the songs go the anger, fears and frustrations, the hopes and aspirations.”
Throughout American history, activists have adapted the lyrics from spiritual songs and applied them to various causes. Singer Antoinette Montague and pianist Sharp Radway followed a short story, accompanied by photos, of the deadly 1911, New York City, Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, with an inspired rendition of “We Shall Not be Moved,” a American folk song whose lyrics date back to slave era. One-hundred-forty six women, mostly young immigrants, lost their lives at the Triangle factory fire.
A year after the Triangle fire, striking women mill workers in Lawrence, MA were surrounded by the threat of physical harm. They continually sang “Bread and Roses,” a poem written by James Oppenheim, put to music. Honor Finnegan and guitarist Vincent Cross gave rise to the spirit of that event with an intense performance of “Bread and Roses.”
Following the Civil War, racial prejudice kept African American women working in jobs such as cooks, maids and laundresses. Spoken word artist Koro Koroye presented a poem that she wrote, called “The Sickness of Freedom,” which poignantly describes the difficulties faced by African American women, many of whom were slaves and daughters of slaves, in the post Civil War era.
Woody Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter whose musical legacy includes hundreds of songs about the experiences of the poor and oppressed. Woody’s song “1913 Massacre” is one of the most powerful interpretations of the Calumet, Michigan tragedy in which seventy-three people, mostly striking miners’ children, were trampled to death on a staircase during a Christmas Eve party. Vincent Cross evoked the spirit of Calumet and Woody with a stirring rendition of Woody’s tune.
Women have written a number of “workers” songs. One of them, Diana Jones, performed two songs she’s written, the heartbreakingly tender “Henry Russell’s Last Words,” in which she was beautifully accompanied by violinist Annette Homann, and “I Told the Man.” Each song tells the story of miners trapped hundreds of feet below ground, writing farewell notes to their families.
In the summer of 1968 six miners were trapped for 10 days in a cold, flooded mine in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia. Jeanne Richie wrote a song from a wife’s viewpoint called “West Virginia Mine Disaster.” Honor Finnegan sang and performed from the perspective of a trapped miner’s wife and Jack O’Connell played the trapped miner who describes the horror of the experience. The back and forth between Finnegan and O’Connell was exceptional and one of the evening’s many spectacular performances.
Addie Wyatt, who became the first African American woman to retain a high position in an international union, couldn’t do enough for people. She was born into poverty in Mississippi in 1924 and grew up in Chicago during the depression. When Addie was a child she played piano for her church choir…she even sang with the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Addie’s life was marked by “getting over” indignities such as discrimination and prejudice. Koro’s poem “Praise,” speaks to the pain of Addie’s setbacks but ends triumphantly with the words “I prayed until I got over.” This was a perfect lead-in to final tune of the evening, “How I Got Over,” which was popularized by Mahalia Jackson. Singer Montague, pianist Radway, violinist Homann and Koro combined to create a unique and rousing ending to the show.
Photos by Cat Dwyer.
Cat Dwyer’s photos from Charles R. Hale’s “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement,” presented this past Tuesday at Lehman College.
Jack O’Connell
Antoinette Montague
Honor Finnegan and Vincent Cross
Koro Koroye
Annette Homann
Diana Jones
Sharp Radway
Sharp Radway, Jack O’Connell, Annette Homann, Antoinette Montague, Honor Finnegan, Vincent Cross, Koro Koroye and Diana Jones
“No question, if you weren’t there, you missed out on the wonderful and talented performances of a fine group of artists.” Vin Nauheimer
Kathleen Frazier opened the AWoW Showcase with a riveting reading from her memoir in progress, Somniloquies: The Mysterious Makings and Recovery of a Sleepwalker. Kathleen described how her somnambulism turned dangerous at adolescence when her oldest brother first attempted suicide – a sort of nighttime mirroring of his waking pain – and her failed efforts to self-medicate with alcohol. Kathleen’s proposal is currently being shopped to publishing houses… fingers crossed.
In the words of playwright Arthur Miller, “The audience sat in silence before the unwinding of All My Sons and gasped when they should have…” John Moran and Jason Kirk gave excellent performances as a father and son, bravely grabbing this American classic and wrestling it to the ground. John and Jason asked that we express their gratitude to Artists Without Walls for providing a forum for their development. They said they feel honored to be working with the group’s incredible talent.
Michele Cetera read from “Mickey’s Girl” a section from her monologue memoir. “Mickey’s Girl” is the poignant story of the night Michele’s father was mugged and murdered in May 1975. Michele searches for closure, left with the feeling she did not have a chance to say a proper goodnight to her father. On Monday night she said it in a very special way, through dance, a gift she received from her mother and father. “Dancing celebrates life and the passion to live it.” Michele said, “On the dance floor, there is always a center and light and its one of the happiest places to be.” With her dance partner, Harry Dominicci, Michele celebrated her father’s life and finally got to say “I love you and goodnight” to her father through the rhythms and energy of a salsa dance.
A few months ago, Nancy Oda was part of a scene study group conducted by veteran actor Jack O’Connell. On Monday night Nancy and Jack gave a reading from Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie, which they had worked on in the study group. In the scene they chose, Matt tells Anna he has signed onto another ship that will take him far from her, setting off a near deadly confrontation. A dynamic performance by two very talented actors.
First time performers MbiraNYC enlivened the Showcase and delighted the audience with their soulful harmonies, beautiful melodies and complex polyrhythms. The traditional songs of the shona people from Zimbabwe, played on the metallic prongs of mbira, accompanied by rocking percussion, brought people to their feet in dance. It was a wonderful taste of Zimbabwe in Chelsea.
Honor Molloy, author of Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage, and marvelous actor Caroline Winterson read “The Deadevens” in which Noleen O’Feeney waits in the Rotunda Maternity Hospital for her mammy to come out from a visit to the doctor. It’s there in the waiting room that a roadwoman shares an Aerobar and tells her an ancient tale Irish endurance. Wonderfully spirited performance by two great talents.
A scene from Joe Davidson’s play the Rekindling drew plenty of laughs as the foul mouthed Nancy Morris threatened to have her husband Barney Morris incarcerated by exposing an old secret in a game of emotional ping pong. Nancy Morris was performed by Mary Tierney and her husband Barney Morris was played by actor Ron Ryan. Both actor’s performed brilliantly bringing an unmistakable chemistry and energy to this comical yet tragic marriage.
Ray Lindie followed with a stirring performance of the opening soliloquy of Richard III. Ray said, “I think it was probably my best presentation of the piece and I credit the ambiance of the theatre, created by our members and friends, for allowing all presenters the latitude needed for their best performances.” Actress Mary Tierney said, “Best Richard I’ve seen, including some prime-time actors.” Great work.
Singers/songwriters Tara O’Grady and Sasha Papernik, who recently tourned together in Montana, closed the show. Sasha, accompanying herself on the piano, sang “Kiss Me Faster” from her upcoming album. Sasha and Tara then sang a beautiful duet, “Black is the Color” off of Tara’s Celt in the Cotton Club album. And thus, an evening filled with diverse and eclectic talent, ended on the perfect note.
The next Showcase will be at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St, October 22, 7pm. For more information about Artists Without Walls write to info@artistswithoutwalls.com
Vera Hoar’s photos from the Artist Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell Theatre, 9/30/13, which featured one brilliant performance after another.
———-
AWoW favorite, actor Jack O’Connell.
Harry Domenici and Michele Cetera
Jason Kirk and John Moran in a scene from Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.”
Niall McKay, director of Irish Film New York
Harry and Michele dancing to the soulful sounds of MbiraNYC.
Tara O’Grady listening to Sasha Papernik
Sasha Papernick and Tara O’Grady
Nancy Oda in a scene from Anna Christie
Richard III’s soliloquy as performed by Ray Lindie.
Kathleen Frazier reading from her memoir “Somniloquies.”
Jack O’Connell in a scene from from Eugene O’Neill’s “Anna Christie.”
The soulful sounds of Zimbabwe from MribaNYC.
Honor Molloy and Caroline Winterson.
Mary Tierney and Ron Ryan in a scene from Joe Davidson’s “Rekindling.”
