Tag: theater

creativity

A Year of Yes: New York City’s Secrets and Lies Returns to Caveat on Monday, June 18th, at 7pm

Christa Avampato

I’m so excited that the next New York City’s Secrets & Lies show is happening at Caveat in exactly 2 weeks—Monday, June 18th at 7pm. This month’s all-star all-female lineup of storytellers is going to spin tall tales about the history of this incredible city we call home. 4 are truths. 1 is a lie. Your mission in the audience: separate fact from fiction for a chance to win an amazing prize from our friends at Untapped Cities. I’d love to see you there! Tickets on sale at http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-3/.

Host:
Christa Avampato (me!)

Storytellers:
Tija Mittal (The Moth, Story District)
Hannah Frishberg (Atlas Obscura, Gothamist, Brokelyn)
Emerie Snyder (New Georges, All For One)
Cindy Mullock (5 Perry Street)
Sabrina McMillin (HXMXN)

Screen Shot 2018-06-03 at 1.22.53 PM

creativity

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies for June 18th is on sale

Christa Avampato

The next performance of my live storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, at Caveat is now on sale and we have an all-ladies all-star cast! It will be on Monday, June 18th at 7pm. Tickets are now on sale for $12. Please share the link and I hope to see you there.

Link to buy tickets: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-3/

More details about the show:
Can you tell the difference between a secret and a lie? Five expert storytellers spin incredible tales about the secret pasts of NYC locations you walk by every day. All the stories are true except for one. If you can identify the lie, you’ll be in the running to win a pair of tickets to a secret NYC event.

Stories Include:
-Teenagers live crazy lives. New York teenagers take crazy to a whole new level.

-There’s a manhole cover in Brooklyn that leads to an underground world if you’re daring enough to pick it up and climb down.

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Hannah Frishberg headshotHannah Frishberg
Hannah is a Brooklyn-based freelance editor, reporter, and 4th generation Brooklynite. She was previously the Editor in Chief of Brokelyn, a beat reporter in Bensonhurst, a staff writer at Brownstoner, and has had words and photography appear in Gothamist, Narratively, Curbed, Urban Omnibus, Atlas Obscura, The Huffington Post, and DNAinfo.

SMcMillinHeadshotCropped

Sabrina McMillin
Sabrina is the project manager at HXMXN, a feminist creative agency in New York. She has helped everyone from up-and-coming lady writers to the United Nations tell their stories to the world. Sabrina moved to New York last year, but has always loved this godforsaken island. She dreams of dying a widow in one of those rent control apartment deaths where nobody finds you until the neighbors start to complain about the smell. Previously, Sabrina told bizarre stories as a stand-up comedian in Washington, D.C. As a native of Rochester, New York, she loves to argue with anyone who refers to White Plains as “upstate.”

Tija Mittal Headshot.jpgTija Mittal
Tija is a storyteller who most recently performed with the Moth at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, as well as the Apollo Theater in 2017. A native of Washington DC, she has also performed at DC’s Lincoln Theater among a variety of other venues and festivals, and received a competitive fellowship to perform longform work through Cultural DC. She also has two masters degrees (an MBA and an MPP) that have nothing to do with storytelling, but eh, it probably doesn’t hurt to know. When she’s not performing or working on a PowerPoint, she’s covered in dust because she bought a fixer-upper. Thanks for nothing, HGTV.

clm cubaCynthia Mullock
Cindy was raised in a Victorian bed and breakfast with twenty strangers-turned-friends sharing stories at the breakfast table each morning. She now dedicates her days to uncovering the secret histories of forgotten places through historic preservation and heritage work. She is the Founder and CEO of 5 Perry Street, leading the historic preservation of a beachside 1879 National Historic Landmark Victorian inn in Cape May, NJ. She is also restoring an 1868 landmark Jersey City building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which previously served as the residential quarters of a 19th century brewery.

In her legal practice, Cindy was named a Rising Star in 2015 by New York Law Journal, a recognition reserved for the region’s most promising lawyers 40 and under. She has guided emerging technology and financial services companies as General Counsel, advised international corporations and sovereign entities on capital raising and other strategic initiatives throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Australia, and been an invited speaker for Columbia University and The Economist, among other industry events and panels. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English and Political Science and holds a law degree from Columbia Law School and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Cindy serves on the board of Volunteers of Legal Service and splits her time between the streets of New York City and the beaches of Cape May, NJ.

emerie-snyderEmerie Snyder
Emerie announced at age five that her hobby was “thinking about lots of things.” It’s still true. She grew up in a hippie enclave just outside of Washington, DC, and has been happily settled in (and continually exploring) NYC since 2002. Emerie is a theatre director and creator of new performance work, focusing on site-responsive theatre, relationships between visual art and theatre, and solo performance. She has directed plays by Samuel Beckett, Stephen Belber, Sheila Callaghan, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwin Sanchez, Daniel MacIvor, and Len Jenkin, and has developed new work with contemporary playwrights including Anton Dudley, Davy Rothbart, Mfoniso Udofia, and Lally Katz.

Current projects in development include EXHIBIT, an immersive gallery tour play (developed in residency through New Georges, premiered at 3LD in June 2017), TRANSMISSION, a participatory performance sermon by Gwydion Suilebhan, and THIS IS LIKE THAT, a slide lecture play by Michael Sean Cirelli. Past credits as an actor include productions at Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J, Rorschach Theatre, and Olney Theatre. Emerie is an NYU/Tisch graduate, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist. She also serves as Arts Curator for Warren Saint Marks Community Garden in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

creativity

A Year of Yes: April Edition of NYC’s Secrets & Lies

Christa Avampato

Had such a great time hosting last night’s NYC’s Secrets & Lies w/ these amazing storytellers: Adam Wade, Vicki Eastus, Suzanne Reisman, Carla Katz, and Madame Morbid (Allison Huntington-Chase). It is an honor to have this show at Caveat and I feel so lucky to do the work I love with these wonderful people. My heart is full. Thank you to everyone who came to the show – you were a fantastic crowd. Our next show is on the books for June 25th at 7pm. Mark your calendars. Tickets on sale soon!

creativity

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets & Lies partners with Untapped Cities

Christa Avampato
http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-2/
http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-2/

I’m so excited to tell you that my monthly storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies at Caveat (next show on April 17th at 7pm!), has partnered with Untapped Cities, an online publication that “unearths New York City’s most unique and surprising places, stories and events for the inquisitive reader. We are a community of over 600 passionate contributors, interested in what’s hidden and unnoticed, and how our history informs city life now and in the future.”

What does that mean?

  • 20 members of Untapped Cities Insiders get a free ticket to the show
  • Untapped Cities will offer the fantastic prize to the winner of our show
  • Untapped Cities will feature the show on their media channels before and during the show

I am absolutely in love with the work that Untapped Cities does to showcase our amazing city, and I’m honored to have them partner with us to bring to life the most wild stories about New York City.

creativity

A Year of Yes: My live storytelling show New York City’s Secrets and Lies is now a monthly show for a year at Caveat

Christa Avampato

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 7.52.48 AMI’m so excited to tell you that my first storytelling show New York City’s Secrets and Lies was so successful in January (a sold out show!) that it’s now going to be a monthly show for a year at Caveat starting in April.

The next show will be on Tuesday, April 17th at 7pm. Tickets are now on sale for $12 so get ’em while they’re hot and spread the word! Hope to see you there.

Link to buy tickets: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-2/

More details about the show:
Can you tell the difference between a secret and a lie? Five expert storytellers spin incredible tales about the secret pasts of NYC locations you walk by every day. All the stories are true except for one. If you can identify the lie, you’ll be in the running to win a pair of tickets to a secret NYC event.

Stories Include:
“When a secret nature versus nurture experiment is exposed, a delicious New York City restaurant is born.”

“New York City nearly became its own country, but not for the reasons you’d expect or hope for.”

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door

 

STORYTELLERS: 

Adam Wade

Adam is an inimitable fixture in both the New York City storytelling and comedy scenes. He is the winner of 20 SLAMS at The Moth (18 StorySLAM victories and 2 GrandSLAM Championships) with 20 different winning stories. He has toured across North America with The Moth Main Stage. His stories have appeared on The Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Podcast.

Adam has been performing his New York Times and Time Out New York’s critic’s pick monthly solo show The Adam Wade from NH Show since January 2010. He is also a regular performer on Nights of Our Lives at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and has made several appearances on Asssscat 3000 (guest monologist), Whiplash and Night Train with Wyatt Cenac.

Adam recently released his debut storytelling/comedy album Adam Wade: The Human Comedy, with Comedy Dynamics. The album was enthusiastically lauded in Sarah Larson’s profile of Adam in The New Yorker. He has been seen on HBO’s GIRLS Season 5 finale and on Season 2 and 3 of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer.

In 2017, Adam began hosting a tech web series for Bloomberg called Conversations with Coders as well as a series he created called Wade on the Bench in Hoboken.

A seasoned teacher of his craft, since 2010, Adam has been teaching a variety of 6-week Storytelling Classes at NYC’s Magnet Theater. In December 2017, Adam teamed up with Airbnb to create his very own NYC Storytelling Experience.

He also conducts one-on-ones meet ups and workshops for businesses and organizations. Find him online at AdamWade.com, on Twitter at @adamwade, and on Instagram at@adamwadestoryteller, and Facebook at @adamwadestoryteller.

Carla Katz
Carla is Jersey born and bred storyteller and now lives in Hoboken. She debuted her solo show “Body Parts” at this year’s SOLOCOM 2017 at the Peoples Improv Theater. She has performed at numerous Moth StorySlams, at the Magnet Theatre, in “Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series”, and in front of her dog Finn. Carla likes to get emotionally naked and she tells stories that expose the small dramas that make us laugh or cringe. By day, she is a labor union leader, lawyer, and political animal. By night, she gets naked and howls at the moon over Manhattan. Carla learned storytelling craft from fellow Hobokenite Adam Wade, a 20-time Moth winner and comic extraordinaire.

Jane Cooke
Jane is a stage, film, and television actress originally from Canada. She has worked at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, and has been in the touring company of Broadway shows including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Mamma Mia!. She comes from a large family with six siblings so she’s been telling “stories” her whole life. Jane loves a big red wine from Napa, and hates soft cheese.

 

Suzanne Reisman
Suzanne  lives in Manhattan with her husband and teddy bear, but, unwilling to fully abandon her Chicago-area upbringing, insists on calling soda “pop,” and sneakers “gym shoes.”

Her first book is Off the (Beaten) Subway Track: New York City’s Best Unusual Places, a travelogue about/guide to unusual places and things to do in NYC. She is also the author of 1.87 yet-to-be published novels. Her essays and fiction have appeared in New York Nonprofit Press, Metro New York, City Limits Magazine, Bookanista, Flash Fiction Magazine, and The Sunlight Press.

In addition to writing, Suzanne is the founder of TwentyTwenty Books, a nonprofit organization that connects marginalized voices in literature to community-based book clubs. She has MFA in creative writing from the New School and an MPA from Columbia University.

She likes eating, running, House Hunters International, wandering around cities, and sleeping.

Vicki Eastus
Vicki is a storyteller, an improviser, and a law professor. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, the land of tall tales and tall hair.

She left Texas for Harvard, where she spent most of her time as an activist on feminist issues but also studied obscure 19th century Russian novels. Years of law school and lawyering led Vicki to need more joy in her life, so she studied improv at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and storytelling with Adam Wade.

Vicki performs with the indie team “Improvisers of a Certain Age” and can be seen at Sunday Night Improv at Stand Up NY. Vicki has spun her tales at Moth StorySlams, in Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series, and in numerous shows at the Magnet Theater. She is developing a solo show of her stories, “Can Feminists Wear Tiaras?”

For fans of slide decks, Vicki has presented “Using Techniques from Improvisational Comedy and Storytelling to Help Students Find Their Legal Voices” at academic conferences in New York and Verona, Italy.

creativity

A Year of Yes: See what’s possible before you decide what’s right

Christa Avampato

In our work and in our lives, exploring our full slate of possibilities before deciding what to do is a critical step that can’t be minimized or hurried. Before we rush to judgement and decide, let’s take a moment to think about what we’d like to do without determining whether or not that’s the best course of action. Let’s lay every card on the table and give it its due before we decide whether or not to set it aside. Let’s dream a little.

creativity

A Year of Yes: Native American culture sets aside time and space for reflection

Christa Avampato

As I think about my own storytelling projects, I am reminded of my introduction to it when I was a young child.

I grew up in a rural area where Native American culture is still very much alive. We had a family friend who was a Mohawk chief, Chief Black Bear. We would often go to visit his trading post. He was a very tall, solid, regal man. I was fascinated by him. I remember the jewelry, items fashioned from animal skins, the art, and the tobacco pipes carved from natural items. I have no Native American heritage in my blood, but I somehow felt very much at home in his culture. I still do.

One year for Christmas, my mom bought me several books about Native American history. The way they live and what they believe makes complete sense to me. They take care of the planet and each other. They believe in the connectedness of the heavens above and the Earth below. And their storytelling—that’s what captivates me the most. They make deep wisdom palpable, even to a child.

Yesterday I learned about how some members of some tribes welcome people back from war. There is a recognition that they must have transition time. They go with the medicine man for a number of days to literally and figuratively have the blood washed away. The trauma of war is recognized and processed. They deal with this in the light so that it doesn’t get subsumed into the shadows. They grieve. They’re cleaned. They’re healed so that they can return whole.

Setting war aside, if we just look at our own grieving process today with any lens, we often don’t allow space or time for it. We are supposed to move on quickly and in earnest to sunny skies and smiles. We are told to let it go as quickly and cleanly as possible. Though truthfully we hang onto things inside of us. We don’t always give ourselves time to adequately mourn our losses and reflect on what we’ve learned. And so it piles up, and up and up and up until we literally collapse under it. We do ourselves a disservice all in an effort to get on with it. Except we haven’t gotten on with anything. We are playing a role, and eventually we will have to leave the stage and all of our grief will be there waiting in the wings. And we will feel alone and isolated and ashamed of it. And we will bear it until we can’t.

Our society is dealing with massive public issues now, issues that have been ignored and swept under the rug for too long by too many. Of course they now seem unwieldy. Look how much time they’ve had to grow unattended. We cannot and should not shrink away from dealing with them now, no matter how large they loom. If we don’t recognize and set ourselves on a course to solve them, that task will fall to the next generation and the generation after that. Bringing them into the light is painful, but it is the only way to create a better tomorrow. Have faith, and let’s get to work. We can do hard things, together.

creativity

A Year of Yes: Why a career in the arts is the best business training you can get

Christa Avampato

About two years ago, I went to the Kennedy Center’s Arts Summit. It was a gathering of about 150 arts professionals, hosted by Yo-Yo Ma, and focused on Citizen Artistry, the idea of using the arts to influence positive change in people’s lives. I was one of the only people there who had worked in an industry other than the arts, and one of exactly two people who had an MBA. Several people asked me why I ever thought about pairing my artistic interest with business training. I told them that art and business are equal partners, not adversaries. In an artistic organization, you need business skills just as much as you need artistic talent. And in all organizations, business people have a lot to learn from artists.

This was puzzling to a lot of people, and that’s when a lightbulb went off for me. How could I bring the arts and business, and more specifically people who work in both disciplines, together to learn from one another? At the end of the Summit, everyone had to create a card to describe their career goal for the year. Here I am with my card:

“I commit to helping artists find the business people within them, and to helping business people find the artists within them.”

My life and my career have never been a binary choice between the arts and business. They’ve always been a package deal for me. And I wanted to find a way to work that mission into my career. I started my career twenty years ago in company management of Broadway shows and national theater tours. It has been a long and winding road since then. In all of these experiences, I say without hesitation that my work in theater has been the best business training I’ve ever had.

I so fervently believe this that when people ask me “how can I enhance my business skills?”, I tell them to go produce a live performance.

Why?

Here are the business skills we wield to produce a live show:

  • Meeting a preset, non-negotiable deadline (that curtain is going up on time no matter what—the show always goes on)
  • Staying below a strict budget, and likely a very small or non-existent budget to start with
  • Intense collaboration with a motley crew of colorful characters who all have different needs wants, and goals—hello competing priorities!
  • Publicity, marketing, media planning, and content creation
  • Financial management and accounting
  • Operations and logistics
  • In-person customer service
  • Bargaining and negotiation, as well as legal contracting
  • Impeccable time, people, and stress management
  • Recruitment and staffing
  • Oh, and then there’s that little matter of the show actually being high-quality
  • And, lest we forget, if any one of those balls drops, you bear all of the responsibility because you don’t have any backup

Are you kidding me? What other industry requires that much of a single person? No other industry. The production of a live show is the epitome of deft business skills in action.

I was beyond fortunate to have this kind of experience in the arts in my early twenties. It has informed and shaped my career and life as an adult, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. These skills are transferable to so many other industries, and a variety of roles within organizations and companies. The arts, and our active engagement with them, have many more gifts to give us than we realize.

My great hope and purpose in coming to work at PatronManager is to help arts managers create an environment of financial sustainability that allow your art and artists to shine, and to make your work accessible to as wide an audience as possible. The arts have never been more important than they are today, and our responsibility to produce them has never been greater. If you have ideas for us, please don’t be shy. I want to hear them so that we can help each other bring them to life.

creativity

A Year of Yes: Don’t Hide the Madness

Christa Avampato

“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” ~Allen Ginsberg

This week as the host of a live storytelling show, I was there as an orchestrator and doing tiny bits between our featured storytellers. Rather than overly rehearse them (as is my usual MO) I decided to be a bit more improvisational with them.

This is not my style. I like to be on point, suited up, and prepared for every eventuality. I hope for the best, and expect the worst. It’s how I survive in a mad, mad world. Some say it’s part of my charm; others say it’s part of my neurosis. Either way, that’s me.

And despite it being against my nature, I will admit that ad-libbing was actually fun. It was freeing (if a wee bit frightening) to just be able to listen, enjoy the stories, and respond. It’s a healthy thing to follow you inner moonlight, to let your madness have some time to the spotlight once in a while. Give it some room to breathe and explore. It’s interesting to see what it finds.

creativity

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets & Lies at CAVEAT was a sold out show

Christa Avampato

I am so excited to tell you that my live storytelling show last night was a sold out performance. It was packed and we continued to sell standing room at the door. The storytellers were amazing, the audience was fantastic, and the team that runs CAVEAT is first-rate. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have had this wonderful opportunity to showcase storytellers and the secrets of this amazing city that I love so much.