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Fireside at the Miles Glitters and Warms with Performances from Ascendant Stars and Secretly Amazing Finds!(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 6 -- The city of Santa Monica issued the following news release: January 7th through February 5th, the Miles Playhouse hosts an eclectic line-up of music, storytelling, dance and drama. Over the course of twelve very different nights, Fireside patrons can experience rising roots music sensations Frank Fairfield and Sunny War, premier Shakespearean actor Lisa Wolpe, singer/songwriters David Poe, Amy Raasch and others, the Ruskin Group Theatre's Best of the Cafe Plays, and two "Inside Hip Hop" nights featuring HBO and Comedy Central MCs IN-Q and MC Mr. Napkins, and more. Comfortable lounge seating beside the massive stone fireplace, organic coffees and teas, pastries and an eco-friendly java log fire welcome you to Santa Monica's historic theater! For every evening doors open at 7:15pm and performance begins at 8pm. Tickets are just $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and youth 17 or under, and can be reserved by calling (310) 458-8634 or sending email to [email protected]. All events are suitable for adults and mature teens, and most are also appropriate for children. For more information, the Fireside Series website is http://fireside.milesplayhouse.org. The Miles Memorial Playhouse is located at 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403. Free event parking is available at the pink granite-faced subterranean garage serving 808 Wilshire, entry on Lincoln. Important: mention "Miles" when parking to receive a validated ticket. Friday January 7, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Acoustic Fire with singer/songwriters David Poe, Amy Raasch, Dudley Saunders & Madeline Mondrala Featuring acclaimed singer/songwriter David Poe along with local favorites Amy Raasch and Dudley Saunders, joined by newcomer Madeline Mondrala, Acoustic Fire promises an evening of stellar lyricism and musical dexterity that will blow you away! David Poe is an American songwriter, performer and composer for film, dance and theater. He is a composer fellow of the Sundance Institute and artist-in-residence emeritus of the Artists Den, and currently at work on a benefit concert for the LA Public Library that will curate and present a wealth of California-themed sheet music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Poe's eponymous debut, produced by T-Bone Burnett, was awarded a coveted 4 stars by Rolling Stone, who said Poe "gives the singer- songwriter genre a much-needed jolt." The Late Album, his second effort, took him around the globe as support act for the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Tori Amos. In the UK, NME likened Poe's songs to "miniature novels," while back home in New York, Time Out! called Poe "the perfect man"! Poe has produced recordings and written songs for artists including T-Bone Burnett, The Jayhawks, Gary Jules, Beth Orton, Marc Ribot, Regina Spektor, and They Might Be Giants. His most recent work, a score for the dance company Pilobolus entitled Shadowland: Music for Pilobolus, has been broadcast to millions. www.myspace.com/davidpoe Amy Raasch came to songwriting as a surprise. She had to learn a couple of basic guitar chords when cast as a folksinger in an indie film, and shocked everyone on set (including herself) by spontaneously writing her first song. After winning First Place in the GINA Singer/Songwriter for "The Missing", she went on record her debut album, Love or Inertia, which made several Best of Year lists, and caused Music Connection Magazine to name her "One of the Top Unsigned Artists in Los Angeles." A self-taught guitarist, Raasch's distinctive guitar sound is based on open tunings of her own invention, and her deceptively simple-sounding picking creates a tapestry of emotion against which her raw poetry shines. "I just move the strings around until I find something that hits me in the gut. It's very specific, like hitting a tuning fork. But it changes with every song and so, usually, does the tuning. That's why when I play live, you'll sometimes see me with four or five guitars!" www.amyraasch.com Dudley Saunders has been exploring the hidden lives of marginalized people since his late teens, starting first with his award- winning performance art pieces, then in fiction, documentary film and - finally - indie-folk music. The Kentucky native first began performing his "surreal, modern folk tales" (Village Voice) to downtown New York audiences in the early 90s. With a musical style halfway between the experimental chamber pop of The Decemberists and the Appalachian folk of Gillian Welch, a style the New York Press called "a new kind of American balladry", Saunders has been dubbed by Amplifier as "a masterful storyteller in Bruce Springsteen/Leonard Cohen/Tom Waits territory." He is at work on a new album entitled Novelsongs. www.dudleysaunders.com Madeline Mondrala is a singer/songwriter native to Los Angeles. She has been composing for seven years and recently graduated from Hamilton High School Academy of Music. Madeline also enjoys scoring and composing orchestral pieces and has played numerous venues all over Los Angeles - but her favorite place to play is at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica. www.myspace.com/mondralamusic Saturday January 8, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Wild and Woolly Tales from My Wild and Woolly Life, by Michael D. McCarty Follow the picaresque journey that led griot (gree-oh) Michael D. McCarty to become a professional storyteller! With inimitable style and boundless energy, this is a man with a big mouth and a lot to talk about. In Wild and Woolly Life he will inspire and amuse with stories from his checkered career as wannabe physicist, revolutionary, acupuncturist, drug dealer, guru seeker, and world traveler. McCarty is a storyteller of African, African-American and international folk tales, historical tales, stories of science, spiritual stories as well as stories of the brilliant and absolutely stupid things he has done in his life. He tells stories to inform, educate, inspire and amuse, with a style both sympathetic and enthusiastic. Thursday January 13, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performances and artist talk Inside Hip Hop; performances by Dez Hope, MC In-Q, and Open Mic Eagle Hosted by Pocho Joe with DJ Jedi "Not only do you get to see some of the livest performances but you'll also get to hear in depth from these artists as we sit them down for an interview."- Pocho Joe Dez Hope's use of acoustic guitar and looping effects create big sounds from a solo standpoint. www.myspace.com/dezhope Both on record and in live performance HBO Def Poet/MC IN-Q has made a strong impression, sharing stages with everyone from De La Soul to Eminem and rocking crowds nationwide. He has put out several independent Hip Hop albums including Memoirs of an Insomniac, 48 Hours, From the Outside Looking In, and A Place Called Home. His music and lyrics have been used in short and feature-length films, commercials, and television. As a local battle rapper he was an integral part of The Battle for LA, a film that chronicles the behind the scenes world of Los Angeles hip-hop, and as a poet he was the 2004 National Poetry Slam Champion and the 2007 Hollywood Grand Slam Champion. IN-Q makes regular appearances around the country at venues ranging from universities to nightclubs and major music arenas, sharing the stage with everyone from President Barack Obama to The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Most recently IN-Q released his first full length poetry CD, When Two Worlds Collide, to national acclaim. www.in-q.com Open Mic Eagle is an MC on a mission. A member of the Project Blowed Swim Team, this man is constantly performing! Jeff Weiss of the LA Times and LA Weekly named his recent work one of the Top Ten Albums this year. www.myspace.com/openmikeeagle Joe Hernandez-Kolski aka Pocho Joe is a two-time HBO Def Poet and an Emmy Award-winning actor/writer committed to creating work that challenges the audience while making them laugh. Born and raised in the city of Chicago, Joe began acting professionally as a child. He is a graduate of Princeton University. www.pochojoe.com DJ Jedi is an Emmy Award-winning DJ who is widely admired for his eclectic style of mixing, song-selection, and turntablism. Over the past decade, he has toured the globe as the resident music maestro for Russell Simmons' Tony Award-winning Def Poetry Jam and with Grammy Award-winning hip hop pioneers, Digable Planets. www.myspace.com/djjedi1 Friday January 14, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Roots music with Frank Fairfield & Sunny War The theme of this evening is transcending time. Both Frank Fairfield and Sunny War draw upon and extend the rich history of country music to create performances both of and outside of contemporary culture. Handpicked by the Fleet Foxes to open their 2008 U.S. tour, Frank Fairfield has won over critics like Grammy winning producer Chris King, Phil Alexander, and Greil Marcus among others. This accomplished guitar, fiddle and banjo player honed his craft busking on the streets of LA and finds material in his extensive 78 collection. His is a "spellbinding voice, full of existential anguish...[he] helps us to remember something atavistic in the marrow of our bones" (LA Weekly). www.myspace.com/frankfairfield Sunny War blends a street busker/punk rock toughness with a true feel for the blues. She has "Robert Johnson hands..." and "the sob and throb of Billie Holiday -- if Lady Day had emerged in Mississippi and not Harlem during the Depression" (LA Weekly). www.myspace.com/sunnywarmusic Saturday January 15, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Three Contemporary Dances from Suchi Branfman, Michelle Garcia and Amanda Hart Join these local choreographers as they create and renew short works for a very small space! Suchi Branfman is joined by Michelle Garcia (Oxford Street Dance) and Amanda Hart (Hart Pulse Dance Company) in a night of three very different works for bodies in motion. Suchi Branfman has worked nationally and internationally as a performer, choreographer, dance educator, and activist. Her work has received support from numerous arts funders including National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, New York State Council for the Arts, and Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. She currently teaches at Scripps College and Art Center College of Design and serves as an Arts Commissioner for the City of Santa Monica. Suchi's work, as solo performer and as Artistic Director of the multicultural women's dance collectives Crowsfeet and Wallflower Order, has received national and international acclaim. Oxford Street Dance's contribution to the evening is a collaborative project by three of the company's dancers: Michelle Garcia, Kristina Musni, and Colleen O'Meara Zeiss. With a working title of Freedom through Encumbrance, the work explores the paradox of finding liberty while working within an environment that imposes restrictions. Great beauty, unexpected joy, newfound independence, and unexplainable consequences may result when a person finds himself/herself constrained by rules or borders. Oxford Street Dance Theater is committed to bringing artistic excellence through dance to the community at large. Using dance as an outlet to reach the community on a spiritual level, the company expresses the emotional capacity of each day by incorporating it into movement. Amanda Hart started dancing at the age of nine with the Sierra Performing Arts Center in Visalia, CA under the technical instruction of Susan Pallas and Melinda Cordell (ABT). After winning many awards in the competition dance world, she was accepted into The Fresno Ballet Company during her senior year at Lindsay High School. She went on to create many choreographic works and appeared in companies including the Cal Arts Dance Ensemble at REDCAT. She received her BFA in Dance from the California Institute of the Arts in 2005. Friday January 21, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance The Chamber Players of Los Angeles perform a program of "International Voices" This thirteen-member classical ensemble returns to the Miles with a program of International Voices with flavors from around the world. Los Angeles-based composer Peter Senchuk's woodwind quintet Three Pyansky celebrates the Ukranian folk melodies of Easter, the Chinese countryside is the basis for Soong-Fu Yuan's Little Scenes from China, and Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 transports with the rich lyric traditions of South America. The evening finishes with the great Czech (Bohemian) Antonin Dvorak and his quintet for string quartet and double bass. The Chamber Players of Los Angeles made their debut at the Miles in 2006, and this 13-member ensemble headed by music director John M. Kennedy continues its committment to the performance of new and familiar repertoire for chamber ensemble with a Fireside selection of works with international inspirations. www.chamberplayerslosangeles.com Players: Larry Kohorn, violin; Alexander Wurmbrand, violin; Nicholas Yee, viola; Nicholas Bertani, 'cello; John M Kennedy, double bass, Emily Senchuk, flute/sopilka, Dana Sundene, oboe, Lisa Kohorn, clarinet, Anthony Parnther, bassoon, Emily Reppun, French horn, Grace Lee, soprano, Satik Andriassian, guitar. www.chamberplayerslosangeles.com Saturday January 22, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Lisa Wolpe performs Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender Join acclaimed Shakespearean drag king Lisa Wolpe as she performs her solo show, the story of a masterful performer rending the veil that separates genders, actors and the audience, and the present from the past. Wolpe reveals physical and spiritual secrets of cross-gender performance and offers insight into the making of the Bard's magic. Lisa Wolpe is an actress, director, teacher, producer and the Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company (LAWSC), an award-winning all-female, multi-cultural theater company that she founded in 1993. Wolpe produced, directed and played Iago in Othello at the Theatre @ Boston Court, as well as creating Jaquis in an all-female cowboy As You Like It and Shylock in LAWSC's production of The Merchant of Venice, for which the company was nominated for four Ovation Awards, including "Best Actress" for Wolpe. Los Angeles Magazine has called LAWSC "one of the 10 coolest things to do in Los Angeles," and the company has been featured on manjor US television networks as well as London's International News. Wolpe has directed 20 productions of Shakespeare's plays and performed leading roles in 17 Shakespearean productions. She has probably played more of the Bard's male leading roles than any woman in history and is featured in the book Women Direct Shakespeare in America. Other credits: OSF, Berkeley Rep, Shakespeare & Co., Boston Center for the Arts, Arizona Theater Co., San Diego Rep, Boston Theater Works, California Shakespeare Festival, and Southwest Shakespeare. Friday January 28, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance An Evening with Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera Glorious voices abound in this program of famous arias and ensembles from Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, from operas including Lucia di Lammermoor,Carmen, Tosca, Don Giovanni and more. Bass Bob Arce, baritones Mario Biscaldi and Gabriel Manro, sopranos Linda Jackson and Amanda McAllister, mezzo-soprano Marcella Pan and tenor James Salazar are accompanied by Maestra Galina Barskaya on piano. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera was founded in 2008 by sopranos Ella Lee and Linda Jackson with the mission of providing top quality affordable opera performances by the area's best professional singers, directors, designers and musicians to LA's west side and surrounding communities. Their latest production, a full staging of Puccini's Tosca, was performed at the Miles Playhouse in October of 2010. www.losangelesmet.com Saturday January 29, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Ruskin Group Theatre's Best of the Cafe Plays The Ruskin Group Theatre presents a selection of favorite Cafe Plays from the series' 7 year history. Every short Cafe Play takes 10.5 hours to create, and playwrights write and actors and directors rehearse in one action-packed day. It's mandated that each takes place in a cafe but otherwise anything can happen. Strap in for a wild ride! The Ruskin Group Theatre has been making an impact on the Los Angeles theatrical scene with an eclectic mix of thought provoking plays and educational programs. Their 'Fostering Imagination' project sponsors foster kids in theatre & film classes that produce several original shows each year. Anthony Hopkins and Anthony Franciosa were some of the Ruskin School of Theatre's first teachers. www.ruskingrouptheatre.com Thursday February 3, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performances and artist talk Inside Hip Hop #2; performances by Anacron, the L.A. Breakers, and MC Mr. Napkins, hosted by Pocho Joe with DJ Jedi "Not only do you get to see some of the livest performances but you'll also get to hear in depth from these artists as we sit them down for an interview." - Pocho Joe Anacron is a rising star in the hip-hop community. Part MC, part producer, full b-boy. A passionate MC, singer, breakdancer, producer, and DJ; this 15-year veteran of the underground and independent rap scene is well known in the most elite circles of hip hop aficionados for his extensive solo career and multiple landmark collaborations with various member's of underground hip hop's finest. www.anacronmusic.com The L.A. Breakers were established in 1982. Inspired by Locking, one of the first street dances that comprise the breakdance vocabulary, the crew's core members are: Continous Captain Freez, Nonstop T-Top, Tenacious Tony - T and Forever Flowin Flexus Fresh. From Venice Beach to Hollywood and Downtown at the L.A. Street Scene to The Watts Summers Games, this crew has been a very important part in the evolution of Breaking in the industry and on the underground dance scene. www.theworldfamouslabreakers.com Zach Sherwin, aka MC Mr. Napkins, is a comedian and rapper based in Los Angeles. MC Mr. Napkins: The Album, his full-length debut effort, was released in November of 2010 on Comedy Central Records. Napkins's credits include appearances on VH1, CNN, and Last Call with Carson Daly, opening for acts like Jay-Z, Joel McHale, Mike Birbiglia, and N.E.R.D., and performing in Montreal's prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. Before moving to California, he was named Boston's Best Comedian of 2009 by the Boston Phoenix. http://mrnapkins.com Joe Hernandez-Kolski aka Pocho Joe is a two-time HBO Def Poet and an Emmy Award-winning actor/writer committed to creating work that challenges the audience while making them laugh. Born and raised in the city of Chicago, Joe began acting professionally as a child. He is a graduate of Princeton University. www.pochojoe.com DJ Jedi is an Emmy Award-winning DJ who is widely admired for his eclectic style of mixing, song-selection, and turntablism. Over the past decade, he has toured the globe as the resident music maestro for Russell Simmons' Tony Award-winning Def Poetry Jam and with Grammy Award-winning hip hop pioneers, Digable Planets. www.myspace.com/djjedi1 Friday February 4, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance The Robin Cox Ensemble Robin Cox -violin, Matthew Cook -percussion, Danny Holt -piano, Erik Leckrone -percussion, Derek Stein -cello, Marty Walker -bass clarinet Come listen to these "local heroes" (Alan Rich, in LA Weekly) and experience a "refreshingly diverse new musical encounter" (Los Angeles Times). For the Fireside series, this acclaimed ensemble will perform works taking vintage rock as inspiration and music from their latest CD, faster than that, their first full length release in seven years. Since 1999 this new music group utilizing familiar classical instruments, video, live electronics, and computer-augmented sounds has held over 150 performances, collaborated with many prominent choreographers, composers, and video artists, and released two critically acclaimed CDs. In addition to Cox's own music, this post-classical quintet performs music by composers as diverse as John Luther Adams, Michael Gordon, Steve Reich, Evan Ziporyn, and incorporates amplification, electronic sound, and video. Recent commissions and concerts have included performers/composers such as Todd Reynolds, Andrew Russo, Sarah Cahill, Eve Beglarian, the Common Sense Composers Collective, Pamela Z, Amy X Neuburg, Brad Dutz, Art Jarvinen, Scott Deal, Carolyn Bremer, Bill Ryan, Alan Terricciano, Leslie Hogan, and Ryan Brown in cities across the US. Ensemble members have a history of dedication to contemporary music, with affiliations including the California Ear Unit, the Eclipse Quartet, and the Los Angeles Percussion Collective. http://robincoxensemble.com Saturday February 5, 7:15pm doors, 8pm performance Only Voices, an evening of a capella with host Joshua Silverstein Contemporary a capella singing doesn't get any better than this! Only Voices brings three a capella groups - Evolution, Frequency, and Sound Stage - to the Fireside Series to charm with songs that sport the polish of doo-wop, the nightclub cool of blues and rock and the energy of glee club. Smooth sounds and hot beats, hosted by celebrated beatboxer and local personality Joshua Silverstein. "Inspiring, funny, and super hip" is how The Ray Magazine described Evolution. Evolution takes traditional a cappella to new amplitudes. This Los Angeles-based quintet has cultivated a local following of ears hungry for upbeat, soulful, and purposely hilarious music. Michael Maury- Baritone/Arrangements, Rono Smith - Lead/Design/Production Rolland Lopez - Tenor Adam Sears - Bass Joshua Silverstein - Beats www.evolutionsings.com Frequency is a vocal band who is dedicated to performing songs from the 70s to today--Generation X and Y music.Exploring the living soundtrack of our lives - the music that plays in the background of important moments - with a passionate and thoughtful delivery, Frequency takes the audience on a personal trip through music they know and grew up with. Frequency is Evan Fraser, Kari Francis, Lena Rakijian, Marius Beltran, Marleena Coulson, Ren Geisick and Tom Keyes. http://vocalfreqs.com Sound Stage is the premier vocal group in Southern California dedicated to expert original interpretations of jazz, funk, rock and pop, and bringing uplifting, entertaining experiences to audiences everywhere. Jammie Hampton - Soprano, Kim Reed - Alto, Bradley Hampton - Tenor 1, Joseph Livesey - Tenor 2, Kyle Bowen - Baritone/Vocal Percussion, Ryan Williams - Bass. www.wearesoundstage.com LA native Joshua Silverstein has been contributing to the local arts scene for some time now through his visual art, theatre, poetry, and beatboxing. His talents have given him the opportunity to travel to many places including Kuwait, where he was one of the First American Hip Hop artists ever to perform on Kuwaiti soil. From 2003 to 2005, he traveled with Norman Lear's "Declare Yourself", a nonpartisan voter registration tour. When not performing as a vocalist, he and actor/poet Joe Hernandez-Kolski star in their own self-written, two-man comedy and poetry show, So Fresh & So Clean. Additionally, Silverstein is the producer and host of Reflection, a monthly event that takes place at Zanzibar in Santa Monica and features talented artists in a live hip-hop and R&B mode. www.joshuasilversteinpresents.com The Fireside Series is made possible by the City of Santa Monica, Cultural Affairs Division and with the support of groundworks coffee, Panera Bread, and Whole Foods. Overview: Series Dates Friday, January 7th Acoustic Fire with singer/songwriters David Poe, Amy Raasch, Dudley Saunders & Madeline Mondrala Saturday, January 8th Michael D. McCarty performs Wild & Woolly Tales from My Wild and Woolly Life Thursday, January 13th Inside Hip-Hop w/ Pocho Joe Friday, January 14th Roots Music with Frank Fairfield & Sunny War Saturday, January 15th Three short contemporary dances by Suchi Branfman, Michelle Garcia and Amanda Hart Friday, January 21st International Voices Chamber Players of Los Angeles Saturday, January 22nd Lisa Wolpe performs Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender Friday, January 28th A Night of Arias LA Metropolitan Opera Saturday, January 29th Ruskin Group Theatre Best of the Cafe Plays Thursday, February 3rd Inside Hip-Hop #2 w/ Pocho Joe Friday, February 4th The Robin Cox Ensemble "Post-Classical" Sextet Saturday, February 5th Only Voices, an a capella night with Joshua Silverstein Overview: Quickinfo Doors 7:15pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and youth 17 or under. Reservations: call (310) 458-8634 or email [email protected]. Organic coffee and tea bar; pastries and light snacks available. Performances suitable for adults and mature teens. Free event parking at the pink granite-faced subterranean garage serving 808 Wilshire, entry on Lincoln. Important: mention "Miles" when parking to receive a validated ticket. Info: visit http://fireside.milesplayhouse.org TNS VinSah54 110108-mt93-3177509 61MarlizTagarum (c) 2011 Targeted News Service |