Ashley Bell – Page 2

BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES at ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' SHOWCASE 9/23/2014

**Emiko, Steve Murphy, Deni Bonet, Bruno Esrublisky**

“I wanted to thank you so very, very much for having me perform at your showcase. I had a wonderful time meeting everyone and I must say, I’m beyond elated to know that your organization and showcase exists. It’s such a pleasure to see live music and art alive and well in New York — and being so well received in such a right, proper venue. As a touring artist in the pop world (although I come from a classical concert background), I experience all different sorts of venues on a regular basis, but by far, the showcase at the Cell, totally took the cake! So thank you!” Emiko

Joseph Goodrich opened the evening with a powerful reading from S. N. Behrman’s The Worcester Account. He captured all the finely-shaded emotions of Behrman’s prose and brought to vivid life the story of a boy’s intimations of mortality.

Fiery redhead Deni Bonet was joined by her full band of Steve Murphy on guitar, Bruno Esrubilsky on cajon, and Emiko on keyboard. Deni premiered two very exciting songs from her upcoming instrumental CD, which the audience adored. Then she sang an energetic cover of the Cameo hit “Word Up.” She wrapped up her showcase joined onstage by multi-platinum Irish recording star Mundy (who had popped in for a visit) on his international hit “Galway Girl.” A brilliant, lively segue into the intermission.

Playwright/performer, Erin Layton performed a riveting scene from her award winning, multi-character one woman play, MAGDALEN, portraying the most extreme pairing of her eight characters – a severe nun and a loud prostitute. Erin transitioned between her characters with such ease that is was almost like witnessing two separate actors onstage.

Ashley Bell wowed everyone once again with a beautiful performance of a rarely heard version of “Ave Maria” written by the 16th century Italian composer Caccini. Ashley shifted to musical theatre and provided a thrilling rendition of “How Could I ever Know?” from the Secret Garden.

Singer Songwriter Terry McCarthy performed three songs from his latest release The Charm. With the help of Devon McCarthy on lead guitar, Terry sang “Gotham Ghosts” “Sorrow Salsa” and “Just Today”. Click here for Terry’s music

Artists Without Walls next Showcase will be on Wednesday, Oct 22nd, 7pm, at The Cell Theatre, 338 W23rd St.

Photos by Vera Hoar and Mitch Traphagen

PHOTOS from ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' "SHOWCASE at THE CELL THEATRE"

Vera Hoar and Mitch Traphagen’s photos from Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell Theatre, Tuesday, September 2013. The names of the photographed appear above the photo.

Joseph Goodrich

Mitch Traphagen

Ashley Bell

Erin Layton

Noel Lawlor

Niall McKay

Devon McCarthy and Terry McCarthy

Emiko

Mundy, Deni Bonet, Charles R. Hale and Niamh Hyland

Larry Fleischman

TONIGHT'S SPECTACULAR LINEUP for AWoW'S "SHOWCASE AT THE CELL THEATRE"

**President Barack Obama and Deni Bonet**

You’ll want to get to The Cell Theatre early tonight for what promises to be a great show. Deni Bonet, pop/rock singer/songwriter and classically trained violinist who has recorded and performed with R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, Cyndi Lauper, Scissor Sisters, and Warren Zevon, will be back once again. Deni has performed at Lilith Fair, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, and just recently performed at the White House for the President, First Lady and Vice-President of the United States. Her music has been featured on HBO, NBC, American Airlines, several film and modern dance projects, and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as like “Sheryl Crow meets the B-52’s”.

We’re thrilled that playwright and author Joseph Goodrich, who’s currently working on a book about the writer S.N. Behrman’s 40-year relationship with The New Yorker Magazine, will be reading at The Cell. Actually, “reading” is a poor choice of words; if you’re acquainted with Joe you know the more accurate word is “performing.”

Award wining filmmaker Niall McKay, Executive Director of Irish Film New York, will be on hand to introduce and discuss the IFNY Film Festival, which begins on October 3rd, and three of Jim Sheridan’s three award-winning films, which will be screened during the festival.

Erin Layton is a solo performing artist and award-winning playwright. She will present a scene from her one woman, multi-character play, MAGDALEN about the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. MAGDALEN will be performed as part of the United Solo Festival on Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3 at Theatre Row in NYC.

First time Showcase performer, Emiko, a three-time featured performer of the Songwriters Hall of Fame New Writers Showcases, will be performing tonight. Emiko has graced the pages of Billboard Magazine, FM Sound, Music Connection, and other mainstream music publications. She’s an award winning songwriter whose credits include SONY/ATV, Famous Records/Universal Music Group, and a myriad of licenses to film and TV all over the world.

Ashley Bell began performing at the age of 9 as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. She made her Off-Broadway debut at 16 in the world premiere of the musical The Golden Touch. Ashley has since performed as a soloist in the United States, Italy, Spain, France and Russia. If you heard Ashley’s performance at an earlier Showcase you know why we’re very excited she’s performing again.

Rounding out the evening will be another first time Showcase performer, Terry McCarthy, whose music spans the gamut from quiet acoustic to full out rock; anti-folk meets pure-pop. Terry will be performing with Devon McCarthy.

All that and more. The fun starts at 7pm at The Cell Theatre, 338 W23rd St.

BRILLIANT EVENING OF PERFORMANCES at AWoW's SHOWCASE at THE CELL 6/24/14

“How many more amazing things can I say about Artists Without Walls? It’s an amazing community and an incredible lineup of diverse artists. Thank you for the plug on my show and for the major hugs of support. I love these people.” Erin Layton

“Yes! Last night’s Artists Without Walls Showcase was exhilarating as was evidenced by the energy and smiles at The Cell . Thanks for putting together another evening of performances for the memory book.” Marty Plevel

—–

Honor Molloy began the evening by reading “What’s Taken,” an expressionistic segment that was dropped from her novel Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage. This piece features Noleen O’Feeney and her father trapped in the ruins of her childhood home. Afterwards, someone asked Honor why it was taken out of the book. “Because it was far too abstract for the audience I wanted…but not too abstract for the gang at AWoW.”

: Honor Molloy

The silvery voice of Jenai Huff combined with the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Eugene Ruffolo in a performance of two original tunes written by Jenai and one by Eugene. Eugene followed with a song written in Italian, which will be part of his next CD scheduled to be released in the fall. His beautiful timbre and romantic language delighted the audience.

From the moment Yvonne Cassidy began to read from her latest novel How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? she held the audience spellbound. Cassidy read the first letter from the novel title, a letter from seventeen-year old Rhea Farrell to her mother, Allison who died when Rhea was only three. Writing from Penn Station, Rhea begins to share with her mother her homeless experience but quickly lapses into questions she has always had, questions she wants her mother to answer. Judging by the book sales at the intermission, the audience members too, were keen to find out the answers to these questions! For anyone who didn’t get their hands on a copy, click here.

A delightful new presence on the music scene in New York has arrived from the heart of Europe, the city of Prague. Martina Fiserova’s humor and energy shone through her music and lit up the room. Her soulful authentic approach delivered an emotional urgency; even a melancholic story felt uplifting. The exciting chord work she does sets her apart from being “just another girl with a guitar.” We need more of these European invasions.

: Martina Fiserova

Dan Yurkofsky premiered two song compositions from his new CD, Hoverhill. The songs, titled “The Time Zone” and “Walking” featured Mr. Yurkofsky’s melodic singing voice and contemplative lyrics. He was deftly accompanied by two fine musicians, Matt Turk on acoustic guitar and Noah Hoffeld on cello . To learn more about Hoverhill, and to hear listening examples from the CD you can click here.

First time performer, Kathleen Bennett Bastis’, opened the second half of the show with an hilarious and “spot on” perspective of internet dating. Kathleen claimed that this was the first time she had been on stage since she performed in Scheherazade in fifth grade; hard to believe given her poise, charm and insouciance. “As always, a terrific evening of great entertainment and talent,” Kathleen said after the show.

Ashley Bell was next and she dazzled all with a stirring rendition of the opera staple, “O Mio Babbino Caro.” She followed up the showstopper with an original composition, which showcased her lower register and displayed another level of her vocal instrument.

: Ashley Bell

Digital poet and recent NYU grad, Allison Fichtelberg dazzled the audience with a spellbinding performance of her epic poem “Scroll.” I am honored to have performed for such a receptive audience and to share the space with such talented artists. That was the first performance I’ve done where I summoned the appropriate chutzpah to make the concluding sword trick work.” (You’ll have to see her perform live to understand that comment.) An absolutely mesmerizing performance.

But Allison wasn’t done for the night. Lyndon Achee, steel drummer and percussionist began with a piece dedicated to his sister Beatrice who died of breast cancer. Lyndon than circulated a bag of instruments—tambourines, maracas, drumsticks and bells–through the audience who accompanied Lyndon in an upbeat tune, which ended with Allison coming back on stage and dancing to the sweet sounds of a steel drum. A wonderful, highly spirited, ending to a great night.

The next Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell will be on July 22nd at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St., NYC. For more info on Artists Without Walls write to info@artistswithoutwalls.com

Photos by Mitch Traphagen.

GREAT LINEUP for ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' SHOWCASE at THE CELL, JUNE 24, 7PM

Come be part of the Artists Without Walls’ Showcase, Tuesday, June 24, 7pm at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St. NYC. Here’s what’s planned:

The songs of singer, songwriter, and composer Dan Yurkofsky bring together elements from a number of musical genres including folk-rock, musical theater, and classical minimalism.His new CD, Hoverhill is his first full-length collection of songs. Although originally from New York, many of the songs are inspired by life in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he lived for several years. Other inspirations for the songs include a cross-county road trip, and a residency at the Ucross Foundation, an artist’s retreat in eastern Wyoming. Dan will be joined by two of the musicians who play on Hoverhill: Matt Turk (guitar) and Noah Hoffeld (cello).

Ashley Bell has been performing from an early age, starting at age 9 as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus and making her Off-Broadway debut at 16 in the world premiere of the musical The Golden Touch. Ashley has since performed as a soloist in the United States, Italy, Spain, France and Russia. Recent performances have included Beauty in Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast, Mimi in La Bohème and Katrina in Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Di Capo Opera and the soprano soloist in the Italian Cultural Institute and the Basilica of St. Patrick Old Cathedral’s. Next month she will sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in the Narni Festival in Italy with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Roma

Lyndon Achee is a percussionist, keyboardist and composer. Lyndon is an active performer in New York, he has recorded and performed with Nile Rodgers’ R.T. G. Productions, Anthony Braxton, Eric Leeds’ Paisely Park release, David Pleasant, Jay Hoggard, Arnie Lawrence, Winston Grennan, and at the Lincoln Center Summer Concert Series, with the Village Drums of Freedom. He recently composed and performed a score for Derek Walcott’s play “On the Blue Nile” at the Juilliard School. He is currently Musical Director of Village Drums of Freedom, Calendula, a New York-based World Music and Jazz Band.

Allie Yurkofsky — **Allison Fichtelberg**

Allison Fichtelberg is a digital poet who has been performing her manifesto, THE GREAT OSCILLATION, in Washington Square Park since its conception in October. Allie will be reading from her epic poem Scroll, her coming of age as a digital artist. “It will be free, multimedia smart phone literature” Allie, said, “because imagine what a world it’d be if everybody playing “Candy Crush” suddenly started reading poetry.”

Singer/songwriter Martina Fiserova, from Prague, Czech Republic, is in NYC to finish up a record of original songs. She released a jazz album Clearing Fields in 2012 and published a poetry book (in Czech) called Martezie in 2013.

Author/actress Honor Molloy will be reading “What’s Taken” from her book Smarty Girl: Dublin Savage. “What’s Taken” is a brief section that was dropped from Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage. It’s an expressionistic piece about getting trapped in a family obsession for decades. As Honor says, “I’m sure that people can relate to the family obsession part.”

Singer/songwriter Jenai Huff with her soulful voice and beaming smile will be joined in performance by critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and native born New Yorker, Eugene Ruffolo.

The
two sing together on Jenai’s recordings and now are performing together live.

Kathleen Bennett Bastis is a visual/mixed media artist who works with reclaimed materials. Of her writing she said, “I write for myself without the intention of ever sharing what I write. It’s just a way of expressing and exploring what is on my mind or what I have experienced.” This will be the first time Kathleen has read any of her writing before an audience – it was her “white card challenge” to herself – so she’s hoping the audience finds her piece amusing and worth the listen.

Yvonne Cassidy was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland and moved to New York in 2011. Yvonne is the author of three novels: The Other Boy, What Might Have Been Me and How Many Letters Are In Goodbye? which was released earlier this month. In addition to writing, Yvonne works at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, the largest and longest running emergency food program in New York, where she teaches creative writing to homeless soup kitchen guests.