Category Archives: Press Releases

Third Installment of TDW’s HOME VIEW THEATRE is Now Available for Streaming

TDW_Paranormal Investigations promoThe third installment of The Drama Workshop’s Home View Theatre  video series is now available for viewing. The video is called A Paranormal Investigation into The Raven and was written and directed by Dennis Murphy and stars CJ and Betsy Bossart.  Ms. Bossart plays the host for the television series Paranormal Investigations. She is interviewing one Edgar Poe (played by Mr. Bossart) who claims to be visited nightly by a ghostly raven. Is this a bonafide haunting or something else entirely?  You’ll have to watch to know.

Paranormal Investigation is the third installment of Home View Theatre which aired Stranded Traveler in late September and Local Legends in early October.  Stranded Traveler is Eric Thomas’ play about someone asking for money at a bus stop, who is challenged to be honest about what they need the money for. The video was directed by Thomas and features Chris Bishop and Stephanie Klein. Local Legends was directed by Alexa Justice and features seven local storytellers relaying their favorite ghostly tales.  Some of the stories are related to Cincinnati history. The storytellers are Adrianna Marie Boris, Jeb Brack, Greg Hand, Kat Jones, Kat Klockow, Carolmarie Stock and Bill Stringer.

The series will continue in November with the release of A Better Place by Eric Thomas and directed by Scott Unes who also stars in the video along with his wife, Susan.  Amanda Emmons-Shumate will direct Denise’s Do-Over which will be released in early December. This comedy about video dating was written by Susan Decatur and features Peggy Allen, Chris Bishop, Rob Bucher, Kristy Rucker, Jim Swartwout and Jim Waldfogle.  The final video in this series will be The Gift of the Magi written and directed by Dennis Murphy and starring Ray Lebowski and Anna and D’Waughn Hazzard.

Tickets for any of the Home View productions can be purchased at www.thedramaworkshop.org/homeview or by calling the box office at (513)598-8303. Single videos are $5 or you can subscribe to the whole series for only $25.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Press Releases

KSO Concert in Person and Virtual this Saturday

STRINGS NOIR
(Atmospheric String Classics for All Hallows Eve)
7:30 p.m. October 31, 2020
Verst Group Logistics 1985 International Way, Hebron, KY

KSO_Verst Group LogisticsThe Kentucky Symphony Orchestra opens its 29th season in an industrial warehouse with a Halloween mix of string classics that should provide a good scare for musicians and audience alike. Keeping musicians employed and playing during the Covid crisis requires following safety guidelines that are nearly impossible to enact with in traditional auditorium settings (visit kyso.org for safety guidelines). However, since the KSO possesses the will, it certainly has found a way, by turning to unconventional spaces. Verst Group Logistics generously offered the Symphony use of its Hebron warehouse with the square footage of a football field and 40’ ceilings to address adequate distancing and circulation concerns. Even the City of Bellevue helped out for a single rehearsal at the former Joe’s Crab Shak to assist with its season opening program dubbed Strings Noir.

The black and white Film Noir genre of 1940s-60s was characterized by its foreboding fatalism and menace. The KSO’s Strings Noir selections capture a similar aura and mood for All Hallows Eve. “String instruments have the ability to create a sublime beauty and then shift the mood and character to abject terror. The audience will experience all emotions in this program,” commented KSO Music Director and founder James Cassidy.

With the third suite of his Ancient Airs and Dances, composer Ottorino Respighi transcribed 17th century lute music for strings that reflects a distant, poignant melancholy. Arnold Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht loosely follows Richard Dehmel’s poem describing a man and woman’s late night walk through a grove and the revealing of a deep dark secret. In 2018 The Florida Orchestra teamed up with visual artist Geff Strik to paint a work of art based on Schoenberg’s music and the poem. The result was a 5’x12’ oil on canvas painting. Strik’s painting process was captured on video and edited to simultaneously project over the orchestra as it performs Transfigured Night. (See more about the project below)

After a brief intermission, the strings return with a suite from Bernard Hermann’s film score to the Alfred Hitchcock classic Pyscho, starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The infamous murder scene with the slashing glisses in the upper strings represent the KSO’s trick and the audience’s treat. The program concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s fiendishly difficult Grosse Fuge. Beethoven turns 250 in December, and the KSO celebrates the composer’s great music and continued relevance with this late enigmatic, rarely performed tour de force arranged for string orchestra.

The KSO invites everyone to come out on Halloween for a unique live concert. Distanced seating is limited to 300. Don your favorite mask, and know that the KSO is committed to safety and keeping the energy and spontaneity of in-person performance alive and well in Northern Kentucky. Tickets for each show this year remain where they have been for several years at $35 to experience great musicians, guest artists and innovative programming unique to our region. For those who need to stay home, the KSO is live streaming each concert (via multiple cameras) for your ‘at home access’ for the price of a single ticket. Subscribers to all five shows get in-person, flexible use and access to livestreams with a 14% savings. Tickets are available online at kyso.org, by phone (859) 431-6216, or at the door.

STRINGS NOIR
(Atmospheric String Classics for All Hallows Eve)
7:30 p.m. October 31, 2020
Verst Group Logistics 1985 International Way, Hebron, KY

Ottorino Respighi | Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No.3
Arnold Schönberg | Verklärte Nacht (1943 revised)
Intermission
Bernard Hermann | Suite from Pyscho
Ludwig Van Beethoven | Grosse Fuge

The KSO’s 29th season continues with the following programs November — May:

L’Opera Famiglia
7:30 p.m. November 21, 2020
St. Peter in Chains Cathedral Basilica
Married couples Sandra Lopez and Stuart Neill and Stacey Rishoi and Gus Andreassen
Join the KSO for arias, duets and more by Boito, Handel, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi and more

Welcome Bach
7:30 p.m. January 30, 2021
Greaves Concert Hall, NKU
The Best of the Bach Boys w/ flutist Demarre McGill

Czech it Out
7:30 p.m. March 6, 2021
Greaves Concert Hall, NKU
All-Dvorak — Symphony No. 7 & Cello Concerto featuring Miriam K. Smith

A Rat Pack Reboot
7:30 p.m. May 15, 2021
Greaves Concert Hall, NKU
A real clam-bake with Frank, Dean & Sammy

KSO_Transfigured NightGeff Strik‘s Verklärte Nacht is a live musical performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht accompanied by a 28-minute dramatic short film of paintings done in real-time to the music. The paintings are inspired by the music and Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name, which is also part of the video. The poem details a dark romantic story set in the 19th century. It begins, “Two figures pass through the bare, cold grove/the moon accompanies them, they gaze into it.”

The story comes alive on canvas as Geff depicts 18 key scenes from the music and poetry. Using only one canvas, he layers each scene in oil with a final layer of lacquer to seal in each scene. This is purposely done since the collective scenes are to be seen as layers of memories. Each layer can be taken off revealing the history and previous scene. The final painting shows the finale, but we know that underneath there is more than meets the eye.

Strik, a French-born painter, collaborated with videographer Joey Clay. The work was commissioned and premiered in 2018 by The Florida Orchestra with Michael Francis conducting.

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Press Releases

Popular A Cappella Group On a Mission to “Save Christmas” with Streaming Performance of Beloved Annual Holiday Concert

No Promises_logoCINCINNATI, OH – Each year since 2015, more than 2,000 music lovers have followed their a cappella star to a NO PROMISES Vocal Band Christmas concert. But in 2020, the pandemic has other plans.

This year, the ensemble will produce a streaming presentation of its Christmas With NO PROMISES Concert, shot at Cincinnati’s beautiful Memorial Hall. The concert will feature sacred and secular holiday favorites, as well as music from NO PROMISES’ everyday repertoire. Viewers will recognize timeless Christmas classics by Joni Mitchell, Donnie Hathaway and Judy Garland, and the premiere of new arrangements of tunes by Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder, Singers Unlimited and The Temptations.

NO PROMISES has launched a corresponding Kickstarter campaign to cover the estimated $5,250 to record and present the concert. As of October 26, the five-day-old campaign is 50% to its goal, with $2,600, and 23 days, remaining.

The ensemble is targeting a December 8 release of its streaming concert to “backers” of the fundraising campaign, who will receive immediate access to the entire performance. The concert will become available to the general public shortly before Christmas, with individual songs released in the interval.

Potential donors may learn more about the concert and the campaign on the band’s Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/184086923/no-promises-saves-christmas

The Campaign to “Save Christmas”
In a typical year, NO PROMISES would appear at neighborhood arts venues and places of worship, accepting donations and ticket sales to offset costs. The 2020 digital concert campaign turns the model on its head, seeking contributions in advance of the performance to cover expenses including venue rental, video recording and editing, audio engineering and licensing.

Pledges early in the campaign have ranged from $10 – $500. “Rewards” for contributions include:

  • Exclusive early access to the entire 2020 Christmas With NO PROMISES streaming concert
  • NO PROMISES custom magnets and masks
  • Invitation to the concert video shoot
  • Sponsorship of individual songs or of the entire concert

Should the campaign exceed its goal, excess funds will be contributed the venues where NO PROMISES might have otherwise performed in 2020, as well as to support individual singers.

The campaign will conclude on November 19, 2020. If the goal is not reached, NO PROMISES will not receive any of the pledged funding.

Christmas with NO PROMISES – An Aural History
For many, the yearly Christmas With NO PROMISES tour has become one of the most anticipated performances of the year, earning a 2019 nomination by Movers & Makers magazine as Cincinnati’s Top Chamber Music Concert. Past tours have included stops in Dayton, Columbus, Toledo and Findlay, complementing beloved local venues including The Garfield Theater, The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, and the band’s perennial favorite, Community of the Good Shepherd. Other recent venues have included Covington’s The Carnegie, Walnut Hills’ New Thought Unity Center, Montgomery’s The Uni, New Richmond’s historic Mt. Zion-St. Paul United Church of Christ, Withamsville’s St. Thomas More.

About NO PROMISES
NO PROMISES is a Cincinnati-based professional a cappella ensemble bringing exhilarating vocals and breathtaking harmonizations to popular favorites of jazz, Motown, and yacht rock. The group has entertained at festivals, concert series, conventions and concert halls throughout the state. Its members have graced the stages of Broadway, fronted major symphony orchestras, and backed the likes of Jim Messina, Steve Winwood, Kenny Loggins and POCO. In their day-to-day lives, the men of NO PROMISES are clinical psychologists, theatrical talent buyers, and hairdressers with a passion for a cappella singing.

The group has released three recording projects: A No Promises Christmas (2016), All Wet (2018) and The Nines (2019).

The members of NO PROMISES are Joshua Steele (resident of Kennedy Heights), Ryan Strand (North College Hill), David Baum (Montgomery), Jeff Grooms (Cold Spring, KY), Matt Croy (Findlay, OH), and Nat Comisar (Indian Hill). Current guest artists are Noah Berry (Dayton, OH), Kyle Karnes (Oakley), and Schyler Vargas (Chicago, IL).

Curious about how Broadway actor David Baum joined NO PROMISES and became a clinical psychologist, or the surprising musical background of former Maisonette owner Nat Comisar? Check out individual bios at http://www.nopromisesvocalband.com/lineup/.

# # #

Leave a comment

Filed under Events, Press Releases

The Carnegie Hosts Halloween Themed Production, SILENT SCREAM

TC_Silent Scream logo2Tickets on Sale Now for Socially Distant Walking Mystery Tour

COVINGTON, KY – Are you dying for something to do this Halloween? Then join The Carnegie Creative Disruption Committee (The Carnegie CDC) for SILENT SCREAM, a small group and socially distant, 60-minute walking tour mystery, running October 29- November 1 at The Carnegie.

Written and directed by Sean P. Mette, SILENT SCREAM is a narrative mystery told one character at a time. Small groups of patrons will tour through a series of rooms and locations in The Carnegie to hear stories from different ghosts and receive new pieces of information to the overarching mystery along the way. 

SILENT SCREAM tells the ghostly tale of Billy Bailey, a promising young actor of the silent screen era. When his fiancé was mysteriously found dead, he became the prime suspect. Before the truth could be revealed, a fire destroyed the theatre and all the evidence within it. Now ghosts roam the theatre where the murder took place, forever searching for the truth. Guests are invited to solve the mystery or maybe, become part of it.

Safety for the audience and actors has been built into the production design of the show. Precautions include physically distant staging, required mask wearing, private party audience tours, and staggered ticketing to keep crowd numbers low. Periodic cleaning throughout the show will also be in place for handrails and other high-touch surfaces. Each tour will have a guide to navigate The Carnegie’s historic campus, and patrons will only be grouped with members of their own party for tours. Please note this tour includes stairs and continuous walking/standing for a period of 60 minutes. Limited mobility accommodations are available, learn more by calling The Carnegie Box Office.

The Carnegie CDC acts as a creative engine and rapid response team to the current struggles of the arts and entertainment industry. It also provides a new community-based structure for performing arts programming, such as safe, socially distant live experiences, like SILENT SCREAM, that follow public health recommendations to keep cast, crew and arts patrons safe.

SILENT SCREAM tours will run 6:50 p.m.  – 9:50 p.m. kicking off in 10-minute increments. Tours are $60 per group, up to six people per group allowed. To purchase SILENT SCREAM tour tickets, call The Carnegie Box Office (open Tuesday-Friday noon to 5 p.m.) at (859) 957-1940 or visit thecarnegie.com.

###

The SILENT SCREAM cast and production team:

CAST LIST

  • Billy Bailey – Trevor Browning
  • Helen “Nellie” Rose Ward – Zoe Rose Davidson
  • Edith Louise Dinkley – Hannah Gregory
  • William Kennedy – Kyle Taylor
  • Rachel Lockwood – Rachel Barkalow
  • Virginia Grace O’Connor – Makenzie Ruff
  • Georgia Marsh – Liz Carman
  • The Phantasm – Aiden Sims

PRODUCTION TEAM LIST

  • Written and Directed by Sean P. Mette
  • Producer – Maggie Perrino
  • Production Manager – Ria Villaver Collins
  • Lighting Design – Chanelle Dau Pino

ABOUT THE CARNEGIE

The Carnegie is Northern Kentucky’s largest multidisciplinary arts venue providing theatre events, educational programs and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility is home to The Carnegie Galleries, the Otto M. Budig Theatre, and the Eva G. Farris Education Center. More information about The Carnegie is available at thecarnegie.com or by calling (859) 491-2030. 

The Carnegie receives ongoing operating support from Cincinnati International Wine Festival, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Kenton County Fiscal Courts, the Kentucky Arts Council and the City of Covington. The Carnegie is also supported by the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases

Remainder of 2020-2021 Season Cancelled at Beavercreek Community Theatre

bctAfter much discussion and consideration the board of directors of BCT has made the difficult decision to cancel the rest of its 2020-2021 season.

This decision was not made lightly, but we feel we must put the health and safety of our volunteers and patrons first. We are deeply sadden that we must do this, but there is just no way to safely rehearse and perform with out putting peoples health at risk.

We look forward to opening our doors next August for a full 2021-2022 season and celebrate our 25th anniversary.

If you have the means and would like to help BCT through this difficult time donations may me sent to:
BCT
P.O. Box 340054
Beavercreek Ohio 45434

As always we thank you for your support of BCT and hope that you are all safe and healthy.

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases, Season Announcements