Not Just for Shock Value: Show featuring Ishah Janssen-Faith

Ishah Janssen-Faith writes to invite any one in the NYC area to see the new show she is in, Not Just for Shock Value: A Femmes-Clowns Assemblage. Press release is below for more information.

Ishah adds that there will be a talk back after the Sunday, April 22nd 3pm show. If people are interested, all the women clowns and the Director will be in attendance.


Six Figures Theatre Company is proud to present the World Premiere of Kendall Cornell’s Soon-To-Be-World Famous Women’s Clown Troupe in

NOT JUST FOR SHOCK VALUE: A FEMMES-CLOWNS ASSEMBLAGE
April 7 – 28 at the West End Theatre

(March 20, 2007) Not Just for Shock Value: A Femmes-Clowns Assemblage is an astounding, all-women clown spectacle that will receive its world premiere April 7–28 at the West End Theatre, 263 W. 86th Street. Created and directed by Kendall Cornell.

"The mystery of women clowning!” says Bill Irwin, Tony-award winning actor and clown. “Different things are funny but it's easier not to think so. Man in a dress, almost always a laugh. Woman in a tux, not as often (but sometimes!). Kendall Cornell and her clowns are waist deep in all these questions -- plumbing the mystery.” Not Just For Shock Value, with its nine women clowns, opens a distinct, new terrain in humor.

Akin to the likes of Lucille Ball and Giulietta Masina, the troupe unrolls an “assemblage”: a humorous series of visual vignettes, short sketches and madcap dance numbers. In the realm of the modern clown movement, it zig-zags between broad humor and the darkly satirical. Not Just for Shock Value is the next wave in circus: all the acts are clown, and all the clowns are women.

Kendall Cornell’s Soon-To-Be-World-Famous Women’s Clown Troupe trained with Ms. Cornell, and clowned under her direction on assorted projects, including an event commissioned by Cirque du Soleil for the NYC opening of Corteo. Kendall Cornell is a veteran clown in her own right and has toured her dynamic solo clown pieces, The Maneater, Glamourpuss, and P.S. de la Resistance in NYC and abroad. Ms. Cornell has worked extensively with David Shiner (Fool Moon, Cirque du Soleil) in directing the U.S. version of the circus-theatre spectacle, Pomp, Duck & Circumstance.


Not Just for Shock Value previews Sat Apr 7 at 7:30pm and Sun Apr 8 at 3pm. It opens Thu Apr 12 at 7:30 and continues Sat Apr 14 at 7:30, Sun Apr 15 at 3, Wed Apr 18 at 7:30, Sat Apr 21 at 4:30 and 10, Sun Apr 22 at 3, Thu Apr 26 at 7:30, and Sat Apr 28 at 3 & 7:30.

All performances are $20 (except for pay-what-you-can previews April 7 and 8) and take place at The West End Theatre, 263 West 86th Street (between Broadway and West End Avenue - 1 train to 86th Street, ½ block west). Tickets go on sale at the box office one hour before showtimes, or may be purchased in advance via Smarttix -- (212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com.

The Not Just for Shock Value performers include Melinda Ferraraccio, Kathie Horejsi, Emily James, Ishah Janssen-Faith, Mona Le Roy, Judi Lewis Ockler, Julie Plumettaz, Maria Smushkovich and Virginia Venk.

Six Figures Theatre Company, now in its 14th season, is dedicated to providing opportunities for women theater artists and developing quality theatrical work by women and other underrepresented artists. Six Figures’ spring 2007 season also includes Flashback, a new verbatim theatre piece by Penny Coleman, Elana Michelson, and Patricia Lee Stotter, and Ding-Dang in Space!, a postmodern country comedy cabaret.

Jessica Morris seeking participants for Epic Theatre project

Jessica Ires Morris writes with a great opportunity for interested classmates. If you are interested please contact Jessica directly. Pass the info on to friends who may also fit the profile and would be interested.

Jessica writes, "The Epic Theatre Center, a professional theater company and home for teaching artists in NYC, is headed by Zak Berkman, son of longtime Smith Professor Len Berkman. I am working with Zak and his company to put together an initiative surrounding the Epic's next show.

Epic often does extensive panels, post/pre-show forums and special events in order to develop their audience and participate more fully in communities that otherwise might not come to the theater. Zak has asked me to put together a panel on single-sex education to meet and speak after one of the performances of Beauty on the Vine - his new play. Hopefully, the panel will include women from several colleges and/or high schools, as well as experts in the field and other interested parties.

We are also attempting to bring some current Smithies to the show on the same day. We will be subsidizing their tickets and hopefully engaging them in the panel discussion. The panel would most likely meet before a show sometime during the last weekend in April or the first weekend in May.

Following is a slightly more detailed description of this initiative. You can also go to www.epictheatrectr.org or to the show's MySpace page.

Thank you so much for your help!
Jessica Ires Morris"

FROM EPIC'S INITIATE DESCRIPTION:
"Our mission is to help place Epic's upcoming production of Beauty on the Vine by Zak Berkman at the center of a larger outreach and arts-education effort that brings together women of diverse backgrounds to share experiences and creatively explore how individual definitions of beauty, power, and success impact society as a whole.

From mixed-race identities to extreme plastic surgery, Beauty On The Vine is a modern fable exploring the power of the human face in Lindsay Lohan America. When a young female star of right-wing radio is brutally murdered, her husband and father investigate the reasons behind the violence. They discover a world where young women transform themselves to look like their idols and mothers lose their daughters to the illusion of popularity and power.

Our plan is to bring a minimum of 500 young women, ages 16-24, to see the play for free or for less than a movie ticket and participate in pre- show workshops, post-show forums, or special events that focus on the external and internal forces affecting how they construct their identities in our culture. These Beyond Beauty Initiative events will be an opportunity for these young women to interact with potential role models on a level playing field. They will exchange perspectives on the play, collaborate on workshop projects, and share the stage during post-show discussions with "older" women: with and without children/grandchildren, artists, architects, scholars, Wall Street brokers, bankers, political consultants, government employees, activists, marketers, and more.

Krin ran away with the circus!

Krin Haglund continues her circus endeavors and is currently performing with Cirque Eloize "Rain" and on occasion is the circus MC/artistic director for the band the Dresden Dolls. Krin is on their new DVD shot in London last fall. Krin works mostly as a clown, single wheel acrobat and aerialist, but has been beginning to direct and coach lately.


"Rain" is getting great reviews. The New York Times reviewed the performance as "accomplished circus and theater. There are tricks galore, but the spectacular physicality of the performers is bent towards something more profound - a whimsical and moving journey through the topography of the human mind." The Boston Globe gave an equally glowing review and even singled out Krin as a "standout" saying that "Haglund’s character gives the show its most heartrending moment."

2007 US Dates Left for Rain
March 24 - Davis, CA -Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
March 27 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Harman Hall
March 30 - Lancaster, CA - Lancaster Perf. Arts Center
March 31 - April 08 - Irvine, CA - Irvine Barclay Theatre
April 10 - 11 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center
April 13 - 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall

"Rain" will also be in Europe this summer and Krin says she would love to meet up with Smithies on the tour!

Congrats on all the success Krin!!!

Wedding of Katy Weber Tierney

Katy Weber Tierney (right) married Tracy Weber Tierney on September 18th 2004. They also had a civil union on October 1, 2005 when it became legal in CT.


From L to R: Kate Hirsch (Farneth) '98, Katy Weber Tierney '99, Tracy Weber Tierney, Ally Bechtel '99, Farzanah Gangjee '97 and Lissa (Scouten) Gangjee '97.

Campus Views

We drove out to Northampton a few weeks back for the day. It was beautiful on campus with all the snow and Paradise Pond was completely frozen over.

Enjoy some snowy campus photos and have a great weekend!

A frozen Paradise Pond and the athletic fields.

President Christ's house and garden from the island in the middle of the pond.

Can anyone explain why there is a No Parking Anytime street sign on the edge of the island in Paradise Pond? It does not seem like this would be an issue....