ShoutOut and Orpheum present:

Community Spaces: Balanced Growth, Moving Forward

An evening of moderated discussion exploring current issues, including the local retail economy, housing, state of public transportation and pedestrian safety. Plus stories of successful community-driven change. 

Readings from THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX by Kate DiCamillo. This Newberry Award winning fantasy adventure tells the story of a brave French mouse who betrays his mouse heritage for his love of music, and infatuation for the human Princess Pea.

Featuring Little Theater of Wonder actors Gary Brownlee, Hannah Munson, and Nabil Viñas. The reading will be followed by a creative arts activity with Lisa Nicholas.

Following the death of a beloved pet, four middle school students wrestle with loss, new friendships, and the challenges of fitting in in a post-Covid world.

According to playwright Cheri Magid, “When I started writing ‘Playing Dog’, my kids’ play about two tween sisters reeling from the death of their dog, I knew I was writing a comedy about grief. What I didn’t know was I was also writing about ultimate frisbee. And what I absolutely didn’t know was I was also writing about death metal. But here we are.”

This delightful play for families, recommended for ages 8 and up, mixes realism with fantasy and includes several original death metal songs, performed to comic effect.

Tickets: https://bridgest.org/playing-dog-tickets/

Saugerties is applying for a Downtown Revitalization Initiative, $10M, as a joint application with the Town and Village. In response to information the grant requires, citizens will have an opportunity to discuss ways that our town can improve and respond to needs and demographics. Briana Maloney, grant writer, will discuss the grant and successful past applicants from towns in the Hudson Valley.

Links to the grant and survey:

https://www.ny.gov/programs/ny-forward

https://www.ny.gov/downtown-revitalization-initiative/dri-focus-case-studies-successful-dri-communities-projects#brownfield_redevelopment

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7-EXvGFV4xw6GtE4N0er-07komw5FdH4NzZ7CtX4__3TRcA/viewform

Community Conversations at the Orpheum presents "Balanced Growth, Saugerties”: a public informational forum regarding the proposed Winston Farm development. With Town Supervisor Fred Costello and Adriana Beltrani, Senior Environmental Planner, who will give a brief history of the Winston Farm development plans, including the current situation, zoning, and environmental review. 

Free. First come, first served; No RSVPs. Please bring your questions.

Augusta Savage, a renowned sculptor who lived in Saugerties in the 40s. Savage’s monumental sculpture “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” shown at the 1939 World’s Fair, honors African-American music through the portrayal of 12 singers, arms raised in the air to create the silhouette of a harp. The evening will include a performance of the song, now an iconic Black hymn, by Imani-Amie, a showing of the recent PBS documentary Searching for Augusta Savage, and a remembrance read by Lisa Nicholas of a childhood friendship between a local resident and Savage. 

With audience discussion.

Throughout the exhibit, work will be exhibited at The Lamb Center, a historic home in the heart of the Village of Saugerties, and virtually through the Emerge Gallery shop on Artsy.net.

Anne Leith Paints to Music.

Anne is a painter based in the Hudson Valley. In her own words - I am a painter of places, going out in all weather conditions and often working large scale. In my studio I paint imaginary and often fantastical landscapes. A few years ago, I began incorporating metallic leaf into my work. It brings 3D to a 2D piece.The immense pleasure that I get from making art is unlike any other activity.

Throughout the exhibit, work will be exhibited at The Lamb Center, a historic home in the heart of the Village of Saugerties, and virtually through the Emerge Gallery shop on Artsy.net.

The Extinction of Irena Rey - This hilarious, thought-provoking second outing by award-winning translator and author Jennifer Croft is a brilliant examination of art, celebrity, the natural world, and the power of language. It is an unforgettable, unputdownable adventure with a small but global cast of characters shaken by the shocks of love, destruction, and creation in one of Europe’s last great wildernesses. - goodreads

In person and on Zoom. Location will be given with RSVP.

For more information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

Conversation with featured artists about their work and music.

Throughout the exhibit, work will be exhibited at The Lamb Center, a historic home in the heart of the Village of Saugerties, and virtually through the Emerge Gallery shop on Artsy.net.

July 27 through August 25 - ShoutOut and Emerge Gallery present For the Record, exploring the relationship between artists and music. As Saugerties looks back on Woodstock ’94 and its role in history, For the Record will celebrate the direct influence music has always played in the work of our artists.

Work will be exhibited at The Lamb Center, a historic home in the heart of the Village of Saugerties, and virtually through the Emerge Gallery shop on Artsy.net.

Pamela Pentony, voice; Paul Duffy, piano; Jim Curtin, bass; and Joe Corozza, drums, and Bard Jazz Students.

**The 2024 Susana Meyer Creative Arts Awards will be presented prior to the performance**

Performance is free, and beverages will be available for purchase.

Alessandra Gonzalez, Latin Rock. Native of Puerto Rico, Alessandra sings at Latin festivals throughout the Hudson Valley. Her first song, Como Te Olvido, is on all streaming platforms. 

Performance is free, and beverages will be available for purchase.

PLAYING DOG By Cheri Magid. Directed by Jessica Bauman. Set Design: Ben Posei; Sound Design and Composition: Alec Cafaro; Stage Management and Choreography: Sharon Penz; Sound Effects Performance: Elizabeth Day; Properties: Christa Huffman Mattia.

Performers in alphabetical order: Gary Brownlee, Elizabeth Day, Chantez Engeleit, Hannah Munson, Nabil Viñas

WHO’S WHO - CHERI MAGID: Playwright. A Poem and a Mistake will be produced at HERE in NYC in August. A Poem, which was also made into a film/play that was produced by ShoutOut, was originally presented by Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne and has screened or been performed at film festivals, art museums and theatres around the US. Her opera Penelope and the Geese, composed by Milica Paranosic and developed at ShoutOut at White Feather Farm, was produced at the Museum of Asian Art in Corfu, Greece. Cheri also wrote for the Emmy-award-winning children’s television show Arthur and is a 2024 OpEd Public Voices Fellow at NYU where she is an Associate Arts Professor in Dramatic Writing at Tisch.

JESSICA BAUMAN: Director, is a community-engaged director who splits her time between Stone Ridge and Brooklyn. Last summer, she directed "What's Bugging Greg" for Little Theater of Wonder. She wishes she could catch a frisbee as well as the kids in "Playing Dog."

BEN POSEI: is an architect, teacher and occasional theater designer. He plays a killer game of Ultimate Frisbee. CHRISTA HUFFMAN MATIA: is the Associate Producer of ShoutOut and has assisted in curating exhibits on Harvey Fite, Linda Mary Montano, a holiday market and currently, an exhibit on the influence of music on artists. She’s a photographer with work on the shoutout website.

ALEC CAFARO: hails from Stone Ridge and works in Digital Marketing at Markertek in Saugerties. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelor's in Digital Media Production, Alec also creates music under the alias "Lex Whimsy." Passionate about blending digital media and music, Alec brings a unique perspective to every project.

SHARON PENZ: an interdisciplinary dancer- maker, choreographer, actor, and conceptual performance artist. A self-produced artist, she is the recipient of numerous grants for her original solo and ensemble work. Sharon doesn't play ultimate Frisbee, but her dog is an expert.

ELIZABETH DAY: Is a 16 year old student at Saugerties High School who has been into the music industry for almost 5 years. For over 4 years, Elizabeth has been helping with the Drama Club.

GARY BROWNLEE: (Shawn) Gary has performed in theaters in NYC and throughout the country. He was seen in Little Theater of Wonder’s production of What’s Bugging Greg last summer and is super excited to be returning for Playing Dog. You can also catch him in the upcoming Spiked Eggs podcast of The Miller, His Daughter and their Ass.

CHANTEZ ENGLEIT (Mona): Chantez received her training at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, where she studied Musical Theatre. Some of her favorite credits include Mozart in Mozart and Salieri (Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck), Ahsoka in Macbeth: Galaxy of Blood (Epiphany Shakespeare), Macy in The Cake (Rosendale Theatre), Mary Pierre in Laughing Stock, Ida Green in Into The Breeches (both at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck), and Edwina in Let the Phoenix Rise.

HANNAH MUNSON: (Tic) is a local actor from Stone Ridge. Last year, she appeared as Mercutio the Pigeon and others in The Little Theater of Wonder’s production of “What’s Bugging Greg?”. She is also a member of Actors and Writers

NABIL VIÑAS: (Sherwood)is a Caribbean American actor born and raised in New York City. His feature film “Tomorrow Ever After” screened theatrically in select cities, earning critical acclaim in major press, and his independent films have screened at New York Film Festival (Film at Lincoln Center), HBO’s NY Latino Film Festival, among others worldwide. More: nabilvinas.com

ShoutOut, a program of the Town of Saugerties, ensures that the arts are recognized as an essential asset for the community of Saugerties and neighboring communities in the Hudson Valley. With partnerships that range from the Reformed Church of Saugerties, the Public library and YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County to local businesses, ShoutOut produces a broad offering of free or low cost multi-arts programs in donated spaces. ShoutOut produces quality work by dedicated artists that enhances the lives of its audiences. ShoutOut is especially interested in programming that investigates and advocates for healthy environmental choices. ShoutOut reaches audiences of all ages and strives for diversity in its programming and with its artists. shoutoutsaugerties.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE REFORMED CHURCH OF SAUGERTIES for Rehearsal Space and to Jonathan Rowan for Mona’s T-shirt design.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

Imani and Friends.

Imani-Amie is a Junior at Bard College studying Jazz Vocal. At a young age she discovered her love for music in church. At 5 years old she began piano lessons at Dutchess Community College Academy of Music. To commemorate her 13 years of studying with the Academy, she gave a Senior Concert as the first student there to plan, hold, and execute a concert of that caliber. She now studies Jazz Vocal at Bard College and released her debut album “Metamorphosis” in February 2023 (found on all music platforms.) Since Imani-Amie is graduating a year early from Bard, she is in the early stages of working on her Senior Project entitled “Nature’s Serenity” which is set to be released in mid 2025.

Leo Belsky is a Junior at Bard College studying Jazz. As a Chinese-American Leo grew up in a household that encouraged him musically, and he began playing classical piano at the age of seven. At 14 he fell in love with gospel, which changed the way he viewed music. For Leo’s Senior Project, he is planning two concerts and releasing an EP. Leo is a co-founder of the collective Phat Inc, and has 3 released singles, one of them being “Shades of Purple” released in January 2024 (found on all music platforms.)

Ivan Tamayo is a Junior studying Jazz at Bard College. He grew up in a Dominican family in the Bronx and the influences of Latin and rock led him to discover the beauty of the Blues. During his time at New Canaan high school, Ivan developed his stage wisdom and took this with him to Bard where discovered his love for Jazz. Ivan’s main goal as a musician is to make live music a more influential part of the younger generations’ experience. Ivan is a co-founder of the collective Phat Inc, and performs weekly in the Hudson Valley.

Performance is free, and beverages will be available for purchase.

JAZZED (formerly Jazz at the Beach) is back! All performances will be at CMM Distillery on Main Street.

Our season opener features saxophonist, Darryl Brenzel, with Larry Ham on piano, Lou Pappas bass, and Matt Garrity drums.

Brenzel is a saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator who works in the Baltimore/DC area. From 1988-2008 Brenzel was a member of The US Army Jazz Ambassadors where he served as saxophone soloist, chief arranger and eventually associate director. He has appeared at major jazz festivals as Montreaux, The North Sea Jazz Festival, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Nice Jazz Festival and The Jacksonville Jazz Festival. He has performed with such artists as The Beach Boys, Chris Isaak, Little Anthony, The Drifters, Jerry Butler, Ben E King, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Nelson Riddle Orchestra and many others.

Performance is free, and beverages will be available for purchase.

Last Day for Submissions- ShoutOut and Emerge Gallery present For the Record, exploring the relationship between artists and music. As Saugerties looks back on Woodstock ’94 and its role in history, For the Record will celebrate the direct influence music has always played in the work of our artists.

Artists are invited to make submissions inspired by a song, a piece of music, or a reinterpretation of an album cover. Work will be exhibited at The Lamb Center, a historic home in the heart of the Village of Saugerties, and virtually through the Emerge Gallery shop on Artsy.net.

Work must be 12”x12”. Hangable art in all styles on paper, fiber, paintings, and photography will be considered. Saugerties and Hudson Valley area artists are especially encouraged to submit. For information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

Submission portal and more information: https://bit.ly/3ZPOWc8

Writers Read celebrates Pride Month with Queer Stories.

Amy Crossfield, MC for the night, is a graduate of Second City in Chicago. She’s appeared on Comedy Central, the New York Comedy Festival, and was a regular at Caroline’s on Broadway and Stand Up New York.

With:

Jill Dearman: Author, metaphysical astrologer, editor, and teacher. Jill’s books include Jazzed, selected by Kirkus as a Best Historical Fiction Novel of 2022; The Uncanny Case of Gilles/Jeannette, The Great Bravura, and Feminism: The March Toward Civil Rights. Jill teaches at NYU.

Suzanne Highland: Southern poet and essayist from Florida, now living in Brooklyn. Suzanne’s work has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize, and is anthologized in Home is Where You Queer Your Heart from Foglifter Press. Suzanne has an MFA from Hunter College, where she received the Miriam Weinberg Richter Award for Conspicuous Ability in English. In addition to being a writer, Suzanne is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator specializing in the care and release of injured and sick wild birds in New York City.

Wallace Norman: Playwright, director, actor and singer. Wallace appeared in more than sixty-five productions in Off-Broadway, Regional, and Stock. He is Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Woodstock Fringe. He will perform selections from Brother’s Keeper, originally performed at the The Edinburgh Fringe, and coming to the Phoenicia Playhouse June 28 & 29. 

Dan Poblocki: Author of mystery, horror, and adventure novels for young people. Under the pen-name Alec Azam, he co-authored with Neil Patrick Harris The Magic Misfits, a #1 New York Times bestselling series. His books, The Ghost of Graylock and The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, were Junior Library Guild selections. Dan’s work has been translated into French, Greek, Russian, German, Polish, and Farsi.

This event is free to the public. Books and drinks will be available for purchase. 

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez.

“Readers of Isabel Allende’s Violeta and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead will devour Alvarez’s extraordinary new novel about beauty and authenticity that reminds us the stories of our lives are never truly finished, even at the end.” - Goodreads

In person and on Zoom. Location will be given with RSVP.

For more information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

ShoutOut Saugerties, with Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, announces three awards:

1. $2,500 to go toward work created by an individual working in Visual or Decorative Arts, Music, Literary Arts, Film, Photography, Video, Dance, or Performance Art

2. Two (2) project-based grants of $750 for artistic projects that creatively enrich the quality of community life, aesthetically or environmentally, or both; it may be a collaboration among two or three applicants.

The awards honor Susana Meyer’s work with artists throughout her career, her love of the natural world, and her contributions to the creative life of Saugerties. 

Criteria:

• Full or part time resident, or completion of significant artistic work in Saugerties Town or Village (submit evidence by photos and/or testimony)

• Commitment and ability to complete project (please explain)

• 18 or over

Submission requirements: 

1. CV or biography 

2. Description of project

3. Sample of Existing Work, e.g. photos, video, writing samples

Proposals due April 5th to: info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

or by mail to 21 2nd Street, Saugerties, 12477

Direct questions to info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

Susana Meyer (1948-2018) had a distinguished career as an artistic administrator, programmer, artist manager, casting director, and producer in the performing arts, especially opera, in New York City and at Bard College. In Saugerties, Susana was a member of the steering group for the Arm-of-the-Sea Tide Water Center. For the first two years of ShoutOut, she brought management experience, photography skills, and wholehearted enthusiasm to artists and to the organization. 

Portrait: Susana Meyer by Josepha Gutelius

To support a full creative life for all peoples, ShoutOut Saugerties commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive community. The organization does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status in any of its activities or operations.

HOW SIZE MATTERS - Shorts, Short Shorts, and Briefs.

Readings by Jana Martin, Nina Shengold, Ellenora Cage, and Will Nixon. Conversation about the appeal of short forms of fiction and nonfiction moderated by Nixon with audience Q&A

Ellenora Cage is a filmmaker, poet, and photographer who has turned her lens on fiction and memoir in  the last few years. She’s published three chapbooks of poetry, and performed in the New York City poetry scene at St. Mark’s Church, La Mama, and Nuyorican Cafe. Her short story, “The Sound of Snow,” was  published and made into a podcast by The Strange Recital in summer of 2019. A short memoir piece, “Tangier,” was recently published by Narrative Magazine.

Nina Shengold's books include Reservoir Year: A Walker's Book of Days, River of Words: Portraits of Hudson Valley Writers; and Clearcut, a novel. Shengold won a Writers Guild Awards for her teleplay Labor of Love, and the ABC Playwright Award for Homesteaders. She teaches creative writing at Vassar College. www.ninashengold.com

Jana Martin’s books include Russian Lover and Other Stories, and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; and as editor, Vanishing Point Forever, an obsessive tribute to the 70s cult classic road movie. Her work has appeared in Glimmer Train, Cosmopolitan, Five Points, Vassar Review, Cutthroat, Mississippi Review and more. She received an NEA for nonfiction and a Glimmer Train award for fiction. Her essays appear in Women Who Rock. She is currently working on a braided short prose collection.

Will Nixon's books include The Pocket Guide to Woodstock and Walking Woodstock: Journeys into the Wild Heart of America's Most Famous Small Town. He's working on a book of poems, If Not in Heaven, Then in Saugerties, and a novel long in the making, Lyndon Baines Takes a Fare to the Palace of Wisdom. 

This event is free to the public. Books and drinks will be available for purchase. 

Erasure by Percival Everett

“With equal measures of sympathy and satire, [Erasure] craftily addresses the highly charged issue of being ‘black enough’ in America.”—The New York Times Book Review

In person and on Zoom. Location will be given with RSVP.

For more information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

ShoutOut and Emerge Gallery continue the tradition of posting poems by Hudson Valley poets in Saugerties Village store windows for April National Poetry Month. The window poems give pedestrians an opportunity to take in insightful, often playful, observations about our place and time as they stroll the Village. 

Come hear poets whose poems decorate Saugerties Village.

WITH: Spider Barbour, Alice Graves, Josepha Gutelius, Patrick Hammer, Mikhail Horowitz, Robert Langdon, Phillip X Levine, Brian Liston, Will Nixon, Richard Parisio, Matthew J. Spireng, Martin Steingesser, Bruce Weber. Free Admission.

ShoutOut and Emerge Gallery continue the tradition of posting poems in storefront windows for National Poetry Month. Shoppers and strollers will have an opportunity to slow down and lose themselves in language crafted by a writer who might be their neighbor, or a poet they've heard about.

YMCA and ShoutOut present BOOKS ALIVE!

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX by Kate DiCamillo, Newbery Award, ALSCA Notable Book 

A fantasy adventure story about a brave French mouse who betrays his mouse heritage by his love of music and the Princess Pea. Chapters from the novel read by actors Gary Brownlee, Hannah Munson, and Wallace Norman. Directed by Jessica Bauman.

Free admission.

Free Book Lottery! Compliments of Inquiring Minds Book Store.

Writers Read continues with award-winning essayist and memoirist Beverly Donofrio.

Beverly’s first memoir Riding in Cars with Boys was made into a film by Penny Marshall, starring Drew Barrymore. Her other books include Looking for Mary, a pilgrimage of sorts to faith through the Virgin Mary, and Astonished, a heartening story of healing and grace. Beverly also writes for kids, including Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary; and Where’s Mommy?

Afterwards, Beverly will be in conversation with Sari Botton, a bestselling author, editor, and teacher, whose work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Village Voice, Harper's Bazaar, and more.

This event is free to the public. Books and drinks will be available for purchase. 

Absolution by Alice McDermott -

With her ninth novel, National Book Award winner Alice McDermott attempts to understand the role that the wives of American soldiers played in the Vietnam War. The book begins in 1963 Saigon, with Tricia, a shy newlywed, whose lawyer husband is working for Navy intelligence as a “civilian advisor.” She soon finds herself forming an unlikely alliance with Charlene, a seasoned military wife and mother of three, who shows her how to support her husband without being subservient. Tricia struggles to find her own purpose until she and Charlene begin “helping” the people of Vietnam. It’s not until 60 years later, when Tricia is contacted by someone from her past, that she begins to question her own culpability in the conflict. Absolution is a moving story about the obligation, sacrifice, and regret that comes with living on the periphery of history. —Shannon Carlin, Time

In person and on Zoom. Location will be given with RSVP.

For more information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

Excerpts from the novel Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson will be read by Chantez Engeleit, Alessandra Gonzales, and Lisa Nicholas. 

Harbor Me follows six middle school kids - black, white, and Latino - working out how to communicate when forced to meet weekly with no adult supervision or interference.

Author Jacqueline Woodson is known for her Newbery Honor winning titles including Brown Girl Dreaming. She has also won the globally prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and was named a MacArthur Fellow. Woodson’s MacArthur recognized her “redefining children’s and young adult literature in works that reflect the complexity and diversity of the world.”

Actor Chantez Engeleit received her training at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. She has performed in NYC and the Hudson Valley, including the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck.

Free admission.

ShoutOut and Inquiring Minds Bookstore will kick off ShoutOut's 2024 Writers Read series with New Paltz author Jo Salas. She will read from her new novel, Mrs. Lowe-Porter, based on the life of Helen Lowe-Porter, translator of Nobel Prize-winning German novelist Thomas Mann.

The New York Times recently published this article about Jo and the book.

Jo is a cofounder, performer, and chronicler of Playback Theatre. Her book Improvising Real Life is now in ten translations. The New York Times recently published an article about

Afterwards, Jo will be in conversation with Nancy Kline, a former reviewer for the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Kline has published nine books, including translations of a number of modern French writers. Her translation of Jérôme Prieur’s "Proust fantôme" will be published in November. 

The event is free to the public. Books and drinks will be available for purchase. 

Deacon King Kong by James McBride -

In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.

As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters–caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York–overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.

In person and on Zoom. Location will be given with RSVP.

For more information contact info@shoutoutsaugerties.org

The YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County has invited ShoutOut's Little Theater of Wonder to bring art activities to the Y. Free, registration required.

Kicking off is Books Alive, a four month series of professional actors reading from acclaimed writers. Each event is an hour of discovery and creative workshops about new worlds and the power of one's imagination.

Jan. 21st, 11AM, Poetic Words with Hip Hop artist Daniel Vallegas, actors Chantez Engeleit and Gary Brownlee, reading work by Audre Lord, Mary Oliver, Naomi Shahib Nye, Vachel Lindsey and others.

February 24th, 1PM, Celebration of Black Writing. March and April dates and topics are TBA.