http://www.artistswithoutwalls.com/event/charles-r-hale-presents-new-yorkers-together-in-story-and-song/
ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' FIRST ANNIVERSARY SHOWCASE at THE CELL, TUESDAY, 1/28/14
“What’s been needed so desperately is what AWOW gives us, a loving ear to witness. That room, that audience of art friends, people that really understand and want to see you express it. Wonderful!” Mary Tierney, actress
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And we expect more of that tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 28th, 7pm, at The Cell Theater in NYC.
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Nicholas Garr has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and around the U.S. in productions of A Streetcar Named Desire, A Doll’s House, Godspell, Brigadoon, Orpheus Descending, West Side Story, and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. His television credits include Law and Order, Dream On, Another World, and Loving; and independent films Joey and Mike and Doctor’s Intentions. Nick is also the founder of City Theatre Project, a not for profit group, which teaches young teens theatre arts in the South Bronx. Nick will performing a piece titled “Action Hero” from his solo show Paper Tigers.
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Seanchai JimHawkins will be making his first appearance at an AWoW Showcase. Jim will be telling “The White Cat,” a story of one of Ireland’s great storytellers, Eamon Kelly, and singing a song “The Liar” that was written and sung by the great Tommy Makem of the “Clancy Brothers and Makem” fame. Jim will accompany the song on the Irish drum, more accurately known as a bodhran. (bow-ron)
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Actors Mary Tierney and DJ Sharp will be performing a scene from Joe Davidson’s play “Looking for Cans.” In the scene, the butler Phillip (DJ), is attempting to extort money from Ms. Wellsworth (Mary) through the revelation of a strange encounter thirty years earlier with a now homeless veteran. Joe’s play will be performed at both the Manhattan Veterans Hospital and Northport Veterans hospital and the ultimate goal is a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project.
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One of the evening’s highlights is sure to be Afro-Peruvian guitarist Yuri Juarez, who will be joined by the great Peruvian percusionist Jhair Sala, one of the most sought after percusion players in the city. Yuri, who was named the 2009 Latin Jazz Guitar Player of the Year, has crafted a distinct approach to jazz harmony and improvisation, placing it carefully among Afro-Peruvian rhythms.
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Singer/songwriter Michael Brunnock and actor John Duddy, who is seamlessly making his way from being a champion boxer to a top notch actor, will be performing an excerpt from Michael’s highly anticipated new work, a musical drama highlighting the life and legacy of Irish Nationalist hero Roger Casement. Of his award winning album, Orchard, one reviewer said, “…encapsulated by the slow build-up of rich, warm harmonies, uplifting melodies, and beautiful folk instrumentation.”
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AWoW member Mary Lannon will be making her first reading in front of an AWoW audience. Mary will be reading from her finished, young adult novel An Explanation of the Fundamentals of the Derivation of Dilapidated Brown Station Wagon Theory aka How I Became A Scientist and Discovered the Truth About Getting Stuck in the Wrong Universe by Miranda J. McCleod (Yes, that is the title…I confirmed it…twice) and sharing a little about publication strategies.
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Actress Aedin Moloney, who has had great success in the last few years in her roles in Dancing at Lughnasa and Air Swimming, and most recently in her brilliantly reviewed A Most Dangerous Woman about the life of George Eliot, asked if her presentation could be a “bit of a surprise.” Why not? Whatever Aedin comes up with is bound to be incredibly special. We’re honored to have her.
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And closing out what is sure to be a great evening will be actor and voiceover artist Andy Baldeschwiler. Andy’s recent stage credits include work with The Pearl Theatre Company, Shakespeare on the Sound, The Glass Eye, and the Accidental Shakespeare Company; he has also appeared in a few short films and web series. A lover of words and storytelling, Andy said “I’m excited to be sharing with the AWoW audience some humor and wit from one of my favorite writers.” Can you guess whom that might be?
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The fun begins at 7pm–please arrive on time–at The Cell Theater, 338 W23rd St., NYC. Hope to see you there.
MORE CAT DWYER PHOTOS FROM THE ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS LAUNCH 1/29/2013
Jack O’Connell lamenting to Mr. Tumulty the neighborhood’s transformation from upscale to “Desolation Row.”
Marni Rice presenting “Have You Seen My Son.”
Dancer/choreographer Xio Evans is the director and founder of The Experimental Dance Theater of Puerto Limon.
Marni Rice and Xio Evans
Playwright/novelist Honor Molloy reading Samuel Beckett
“Highway Star” Billy Barrett kicked off the evening.
Tara O’Grady and Niamh Hyland closed the evening. Here Tara sings “Summertime,” Billy Holiday style.
"SPOTLIGHT ON" TARA O'GRADY
1. Who are you?
Tara O’Grady is a singer/songwriter who leads her own jazz/blues band in New York City. She seems to have been born in the wrong decade with a voice like Billie Holiday and retro threads reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood. Growing up on Irish trad music and big band swing, she combined both and released her first album, Black Irish, in 2010. Swinging songs like “Danny Boy” led to wanting to compose her own songs, so in 2011 she recorded her sophomore CD, Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, in Nashville.
2. What are you working on at the moment?
Tara is preparing for her upcoming recording of her third album, A Celt in the Cotton Club, a collection of new songs and a few Irish favorites in her unique style blending jazz, blues and folk. The songs will take listeners on a journey from Belfast to Butte, Montana.
3. Do you have upcoming events you would like people to attend?
On February 14, Tara will be performing live at the Cell Theatre for the premiere of a new jazz series called “Jazz at the Cell “with members of her Black Velvet Band, as well as special guests including Jordan Sandke on trumpet and Michael Howell on guitar, a former member of Dizzy Gillespie’s band. The ‘My Funny Valentine’ show will take the audience through the stages of love. The rapturous heartache begins at 8:00pm at 338 W. 23 Street. FREE.
4. What are five things you can’t live without?
- Chocolate
- Music
- Chocolate
- Red lipstick
- Chocolate.
5. Your favorite quote at the moment and why?
“Be more awesome.” A nine-year old called Kid President has his own You Tube channel and is trying to teach boring adults to have more fun, create cool stuff for the universe to make the world a better place, and dance more. I think that’s awesome.
6. Who have you always wanted to work with and why?
Steven Spielberg. I’m a film fanatic, and have always wanted to work in cinema.
7. If you had the opportunity to ask someone when you were starting out for advice, who would you have asked and what would you have asked?
My question would have been, how do I pursue a life in the arts, and I would have asked anyone in any art form that looked happy about their chosen path. I was always taught to pursue “a real job” with stability, health insurance and a retirement package. I wish someone advised me when I was a teenager that pursuing something you are passionate about is as real as it gets. And that bliss is better than bucks.
8. If you could dream about trying out something you haven’t yet tried out in the arts, what would that be?
I would really love to be able to play guitar, piano, ukulele, just about any instrument. I wish I learned when I was younger. But it’s never too late to start. My voice is my instrument, but I would like to learn the physical tools to express myself even more.
9. What was the best gift that someone gave you that inspired or facilitated an interest in your art?
Encouragement. I used to be told not to sing. I was even rejected when I auditioned for my high school chorus. I didn’t believe I was a musician because I didn’t study music. I needed people to tell me, hey, you have a voice, and you have the ability to write, so just do it.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-OGrady-Jazz-Vocalist/117033958343666?ref=search
http://www.youtube.com/taraogradymusic
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