(West Palm Beach, FL – May 25, 2011) Fatima NeJame, president and chief executive officer of the world renowned Palm Beach Photographic Centre (PBPC), today announced the upcoming opening of its next exhibition:
INFOCUS Juried Show
& Picture My World
June 24 – August 20, 2011
Opening Reception:
Friday, June 24 – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
INFOCUS:
The Palm Beach Photographic Centre’s 15th annual INFOCUS Juried Show will showcase the work of its student members, both inside the Photo Centre and on its Web site, www.workshop.org. A Best of Show cash prize of $950 will be awarded, as will two Merit Awards for free tuition for a FOTOfusion Passport or a Master Workshop.
The INFOCUS Juror is Kevin Ames, who’s career has included commercial photography, writing books on photographing women, Photoshop and Lightroom, a column (the Digital Photographer’s Notebook) in Photoshop User magazine, teaching engagements through the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. At his studio in Atlanta, Ames works with clients like A.T.&T., Westin Hotels and Honda Power Equipment. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Jezebel, Atlanta Sports and Fitness as well as on corporate websites, brochures and capabilities programs. He is currently writing Faces: A Digital Retoucher’s Guide to Photoshop.
PICTURE MY WORLD:
Since September 1997, the Palm Beach Photographic Centre’s PICTURE MY WORLD Program has served disadvantaged children, ages 8 – 17, including some students who are under the supervision of the legal system due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. This program teaches an appreciation of family and community, the development of self-esteem, nonviolent means of express and personal responsibility.
PICTURE MY WORLD uses photography exploration combined with strategic journal writing curriculums to promote problem solving skills, and insight into community interaction by creating awareness for each student that they are valued and their voice can make a positive difference in the their lives and the lives of others. In fact, program outcomes have shown that the controlled and directed use of photography and journal writing provides numerous therapeutic, social and career benefits, as well as helping these children to develop positive means of expression while improving academic skills.
Now running through June 18 at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre is PROJECT TANDEM: Two Bicycles, Two Photographers, One 11,000-Mile Ride, with photographs by Morrigan McCarthy and Alan Winslow.
About the Palm Beach Photographic Centre:
The Photo Centre is located at the downtown City Center municipal complex at 415 Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, please call 561.253.2600 or visit www.workshop.org or www.fotofusion.org.
To download accompanying multiple images for these exhibitions, go to the Palm Beach Photographic Center’s online pressroom at: http://pressroom.workshop.org
Ethan Govier begged his dad Brian to take him on one of his many fishing expeditions. June 4th aboard the Blue Heron II www.blueheronfishing.com out of Jupiter Florida turned out to be the day for him! Ethan only 8 years old weighing in at 50 LBS caught this monster 46 LB. Smoker King Fish. The fight lasted 30 minutes as Ethan struggled with his rod and reel only loaded with 25 LB test line. Finally after several attempts Ethan with the help of the captain land this fish on the boat. The day was as perfect as you could imagine especially when the King fish made it to the smoker for some good eating!
Mounts Botanical Garden to Host Tropical Fruit Festival, Workshops on Backyard Vegetable Gardens, Bromeliads & Orchid Care, Evening Garden Walk and Digital Photography Judging During June & July
(West Palm Beach, FL – May 31, 2011) The Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden today announced three major public events in June and July 2011:
Farm-Your-Backyard Vegetable Garden
Saturday, June 4 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Members $30, Non-members $40
Now is the time to begin planning a vegetable garden. Mounts Horticulturist Mike Page and Arthur Kirstein, Coordinator of Agricultural Economic Development, will teach this hands-on workshop on how to successfully grow vegetables. The focus of the program is on establishing and managing small vegetable projects, with helpful tips on site preparation, seedling establishment, planting, maintenance and harvesting will be covered. Register early, because this popular workshop has sold out quickly in the past.
Tropical Fruit Festival
Saturday, June 25 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission FREE for members of Mounts and Palm Beach Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council International; $5 for nonmembers
The Tropical Fruit Festival will include special cooking demonstrations by Chef Allen Susser, recipient of the coveted James Beard Award as Best Chef in the Southeast and the author of several best-selling cookbooks; a Tropical Fruit Display by Gene Joyner and Fruitscaping lecture by Dr. Jonathan Crane; tropical fruit samples (limited to the first 500 attendees), plus fruit and fruit trees available for purchase. The Tropical Fruit Festival at Mounts Botanical garden is made possible by the generous support of the Marge & Fritz Bell Tropical Fruit Project.
Evening Walk with the Director
Wednesday, July 13 – 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Members FREE, Non-members $5
Enjoy the beauty of Mounts Botanical Garden in the early evening hours. Garden Director Allen Sistrunk will share information about the Garden’s history and future vision, plus stories of folklore and ethnobotanical uses of South Florida plants. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience the evening fragrances of exotic flowers. Meet at the front entrance of Mounts.
Versatile Bromeliads
Saturday, July 16 – 9 a.m. to Noon
Exhibit Hall A
Members $30, Non-members $40
Hosted by Jeff Hutchinson and Joe Libertucci of The Bromeliad Society of the Palm Beaches, this popular workshop returns to discuss the basics of bromeliad culture and focus on the plant’s natural, epiphytic tendencies. This program will show how easy and fun it is to be creative with bromeliads and how they complement any garden situation. There will be demonstrations of various mounting techniques using driftwood, trees and rocks, plus the use of containers will be shown. Each attendee will receive a special bromeliad and rare and unusual plants will be available for purchase.
6th Annual Digital Photography Judging
Sunday, July – 1 p.m.
Exhibit Hall
Members FREE, Non-members FREE
All of the entries from the photography contest will be projected and commented upon by the Judges, who will collectively choose the best five entries in each of five categories: Scenics, Animal Life, Plant Life, People and Nature Close-Ups. The judges will also select a Best-in-Show winner.
Orchid Care 101
Saturday, July 30 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Mounts Auditorium
Members $30, Non-members $40
Workshop instructors Tom Wells and Sandi Jones of Broward Orchid Supply will explain what orchids need in regard to water, light, fertilizer and temperature. Attendees are encouraged to bring an orchid (up to 6 inches) to be repotted or mounted. Several methods will be demonstrated such as potting and mounting on tree fern, cork bark or grapevine. Orchid supplies will be available for purchase.
About Mounts Botanical Garden:
Mounts Botanical Garden is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest public garden. Mounts displays tropical and subtropical plants from around the world, including plants native to Florida, exotic trees, tropical fruit, herbs, citrus, palms and more. As a component of the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service, and through its affiliation with the University of Florida, Mounts is the place to connect with Extension Horticulturists, Master Gardeners, the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program, and professional horticultural advisors. Mounts also offers a variety of horticultural classes, and garden-related events and workshops.
Located at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Mounts Botanical Garden is open Monday-Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The suggested donation for entry to the Garden is $5 per person. For more information, please call 561.233.1757 or visit www.mounts.org.
Happy June and Happy Father’s Day to all of our Around Wellington Dads!
As summer arrives, we have some excellent advice from Heather Loguidice in “Ask the Docs.”She covers dehydration, heat stroke, sun burn, mosquito bites, swimmer’s ear and food-borne illnesses.
Looking for a fun indoor place to go with your kids over the summer?Check out Picasso’s Paint-Your-Own Pottery and you will be delighted. See our “AW Spotlight” story about this special place, including a little introduction video to what they do. Don’t forget to visit our “AW Coupons” page for a coupon too.
Read about the power of text marketing...by David Spatz.
Do you have a local business or just an interest in marketing techniques?You will be impressed with David Spatz’ case for “Text Marketing” and why it’s possibly the most effective way to reach your customers. Thanks, David, for this interesting story this month, which can be found under “AW Stories of the Month.”
Also under “AW Stories of the Month,” Marla E. Schwartz gives us the full run-down on what’s happening at City Theatre’s “Summer Shorts.”They are also presenting the Lisa Loeb/ Marco Ramirez play “Camp Kappawanna.”And a play featuring Jai Rodriguez (of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” fame) called “Dirty Little Secrets.”It’s going to be a sizzling summer of theater!
We’re so excited to bring you back-to-back-to-back contests, thanks to our advertisers and other great organizations in our community too!We just gave away some great contest prizes – tickets for 4 to Lisa Loeb’s Camp Kappawanna at the Kravis Center, tickets to the Taste of the West and Chocolate Lover’s Festival, a gift certificate for a one-hour massage at Massage Envy and many more!Our next contest is for tickets to City Theatre’s “Summer Shorts” play festival, so don’t forget to click on our “Contest” page and email your entry!
Writer Stephanie Karpf addresses the obesity problem in this country – nope, not people this time– it’s pets she’s talking about.Check out “Creature Feature” for her story “Obesity isn’t just a People Problem.”
In “Cultural Corner,” writer Marla E. Schwartz gets up close and personal with award-winning actress Sharon Gless of “Burn Notice.”Speaking of acting and the world of theater, there are a couple of special theater events not to be missed in June – Lisa Loeb’s “Camp Kappawanna,” a children’s musical and City Theatre’s “Summer Shorts.”We’re giving away tickets to both of these to a couple of lucky contest winners!
Thanks to Shawn Thompson for her helpful updates to “Kids’ Corner” and the “Kids Eat FREE” scene Around Wellington!This month we’ve added a couple of fun things – the schedule of summer kids’ movies at the Wellington Marketplace theater and a little home video of creating your own rocket out of a 2-liter bottle.OK, something for everyone!
And why must we always accept plastic bags, even if we are perfectly willing to walk away “bag-less” after a store transaction?That’s what Bryan Hayes wants to know in “Living Green” this month.
I’d like to point you to our “Photo Galleries” page because there are so many great photos these days of recent events!I want to thank Carol Porter for getting Around Wellington so well and for the excellent photos!I want to thank Lois Spatz and Christine Rose for their ongoing excellent photos too!Check out photos from “The 2011 FL Green, Energy and Climate Conference,” the most recent Wellington Chamber luncheon, the most recent PW Chamber luncheon, the Heroes in Medicine awards, the Mighty Wolverine Sound Band Awards and coming soon – Taste of the West photos!
While you’re at it, please check out our “Videos” page, which features a few short, funny clips from last month’s terrific “Laugh Out Loud” show at the Wellington Amphitheatre. Our videos page features Leslie Grey Streeter of the Palm Beach Post, Frannie Sheridan (known for her one-woman show “Confessions of a Jewish Shiksa”), Alan Shuman and Evan Jacobs.
Our “Teen Talk” writer Stephanie Courtois makes a case for how important it is for teens to experience being a camp counselor, as she thinks about her upcoming summer. A big congratulations to Stephanie Courtois also – as she was selected to be Editor-in-Chief of the Wellington High School newspaper, beginning next fall!Way to go, Stephanie!
Where in the world is our travelin’ Terri Marshall this month?Houston, Texas – giving us an unusual tourist’s perspective on all of the fun things to do while in Houston.Did you know that there’s a house in Houston with an aluminum siding made up of 100% flattened beer cans?And did you know they have a fabulous zoo in Houston?Check it out in “Travel with Terri!”
Thank you to our AroundWellington® contributors, writers and photographers, for their excellent work!Here’s our table of contents for this month. So see below or just visit www.AroundWellington.com to explore.
Thanks to our advertisers and to you, our readers!Please feel free to contact me if you ever have questions or suggestions: aroundwellington@earthlink.net.
SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA XXI STORMS INTO CARLIN PARK
WITH WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
THE TEMPEST
JULY 14-17 AND 21-24
JUPITER-The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival celebrates its 21st year of bringing the Bard’s works to life with this summer’s production of THE TEMPEST. The famed work will star Shakespeare Festival veterans alongside an up-and-coming actress, this year’s annual Pathfinder Award recipient for Drama, Katherine Seldin of Spanish River High School, in the role of Miranda. The performances take place July 14th-17th and 21st-24th at 8pm, at the Seabreeze Amphitheater in Carlin Park, Jupiter. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $5 per adult.
One of the great comedy plays by William Shakespeare, the plot starts when King Alonso of Naples and his entourage sail home for Italy after attending his daughter’s wedding. They encounter a violent storm, or Tempest, which forces everyone to jump overboard and be washed ashore on a strange island inhabited by the magician Prospero who has deliberately conjured up the storm. Prospero and Miranda live on the island which is also inhabited by Ariel, a sprite who carries out the bidding of Prospero, and the ugly, half human Caliban.
“Since the opening of the Seabreeze Amphitheatre in 2009, we have been returning to the plays we first performed in Carlin Park nearly twenty years ago,” says Artistic Director of Shakespeare by the Sea, Dr. Kevin Crawford. “Those works span Shakespeare’s career as a writer, and have included delightful comedies, his darkest tragedies, and, now, with the late romance of “The Tempest,” his final non-collaborative effort for the stage. It is a drama of loss, redemption, vengeance, forgiveness, magic, and the very art of theatre itself. I am thrilled to revisit its truly enchanted island this year, somewhat sentimentally, as 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the play’s first performances and ends a twenty-year absence from our own stage in Jupiter.” Crawford also stars as Prospero, with veteran actors Patrick Wilkinson as Caliban,and Kristina Parker as Ariel.
The Festival had explored the possibility of implementing an admission fee for adults this year, but after discussion, Executive Director Kermit Christman decided to continue the Festival’s “Pay what you Will” tradition, with a suggested donation of $5 per adult. “I heard from families who come multiple times each year who said they would be unable to do so if we charged admission,” says Christman. “I decided that our mission has to continue, providing this event for all socioeconomic levels. We hope those who are able to will donate, so we can continue our tradition of free productions.”
The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival and The Hartman Foundation, in association with Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation present Shakespeare by the Sea XXI’s production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest July 14th-17th and 21st-24th at 8:00pm. Gates open at 6:30pm with pre-show entertainment provided by the Court Jester, Richard Ribuffo. Bring a beach chair, blanket and picnic basket or enjoy concessions at the Seabreeze Amphitheater in Carlin Park, Jupiter. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 per adult.Call the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department Events Hotline at 561-966-7099 or visit www.pbshakespeare.org for more information. Shakespeare by the Sea XXI is sponsored by The Hartman Foundation, The Palm Beach Post, Publix Supermarket Charities and is dedicated to long-time board member and sponsor, Mary E. Gale.
ABOUT THE PALM BEACH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival is a 501(c)3 professional theater company dedicated to enhancing the accessibility and appreciation for Shakespearean, classic and contemporary theater for all ages and socioeconomic levels. For more information about the Festival, its history or its season, please visit www.pbshakespeare.org.
This year marks the 16thSummer Shorts season for City Theatre in Miami and this summer’s line-up of events by this extraordinary company billed as “America’s Short Play Festival” is hot … hot … hot! It’s offering 55 Performances in 5 Weeks!
City Theatre will be presenting its annual Summer Shorts production with an all-star line-up of plays featuring the multi-talented acting chops of veteran favorites Stephen Trovillion, Gregg Weiner, Finnerty Steeves and Ceci Fernandez and headlining the show will be Jai Rodriguez whose name is familiar to most of us from his days on Bravo network’s ground-breaking and Emmy® Award winning American reality television show QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT. He also co-authored a book “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better”,with the other hosts from this program. He will also be performing in a separate musical revue called DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. And coming back for another exciting year is CAMP KAPPAWANNA, book by Marco Ramirez and Music & Lyrics by Lisa Loeb, Michelle Lewis and Dan Petty, a heart-warming children’s musical (which brings City Theatre to Palm Beach County for the first time) as well as launching its new CITYWRIGHTSIndustry Conference.
Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez stars in many of this summer's "Summer Shorts." Brent Dundore Photography, 2011.
On her way home from a long day of rehearsals and a taping with DECO DRIVE, only days after finding out that the company is a finalist for the Knight Arts Challenge, Producing Artistic Director of City Theatre, Stephanie Norman, graciously spoke about the current season.
“We feel very fortunate to be in that group,” Stephanie said in responding to being a Knight Arts Challenge Finalist.
“This summer there are seven plays in Summer Shorts, we’re doing a wonderful, wonderful collection of plays and we have an opening number,” Stephanie explained. “We’re doing a play by Israel Horovitz which is a play about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict so it’s timely. We’re doing a bi-lingual play by Richard Hellesen that takes places in a maternity ward where both women have just given birth and one woman speaks English and the other only speaks Spanish yet they understand everything that they’ve each gone through. We’re doing a short rock musical by Marco Ramirez and we’re got a little bit of everything, we’ve got comedy, we’ve got drama, we’ve got singing and we’ve really got a great company with our actors headlined by Jai Rodriguez.”
“In terms of matching the directors with the various plays everybody has their own style and their own sensibilities in terms of what kind of material they gravitate to and what their strengths are; and I think in
Don't miss this year's "Summer Shorts!" Dos Corzanoes, a short play by Richard Hellesen with Ceci Fernandez. Image by George Schiavone.
general, Summer Shorts has always been like to me a big Rubix Cube when it comes to the combination of the playwrights, actors and directors,” Stephanie said. “I believe the plays fit the actors and the actors fit the plays and the same thing is true with the directors.We keep twisting and turning and twisting and turning until we feel like we’ve nailed it. It’s very subjective and very intuitive. We listen to the plays, we listen to the actors and we really try to give each actor an opportunity to do many different roles that will show off all their ranges and talent.In terms of the writing we try to look for differences in subject matter, style and frames of reference. Our directors; we have a wonderful community in South Florida of artists so we really love to bring a lot of people together each summer to come and play with us. There’s something really cool about putting together a festival like this because there’s a lot of people involved and that brings a lot of energy together. I think that’s very exciting for our artists and our audiences to see.”
·SUMMER SHORTS: one fast and furiously fun program of the nation’s hottest “short” plays; new in featuring a star headliner, Jai Rodriguez, stage of stage, television and film, performing alongside City Theatre’s award winning ensemble.
The short play line-up this season includes:
Aboard the Guy V. Molinari by Bara Swain (World Premiere)
Two passengers on their way overboard unexpectedly find their port in the storm.
Chronicle Simpkins Will Cut Your Ass by Rolin Jones (Summer Shorts Revival)
It’s gang warfare on the playground where Chronicles don’t play by the rules defending her hardcore tetherball crown.
Dos Corazones by Richard Hellesen (Summer Shorts Revival)
Two new mothers from very different backgrounds discover they speak the same language after all.
WHAT STRONG FENCES MAKE by Israel Horovitz (World Premiere)
Horovitz’s hard-hitting, emotionally charged and timely drama sets two friends against each other at an Israeli checkpoint.
quiet, please by Garth Wingfield (World Premiere)
Two patients waiting for therapy find the courage to say hello.
Hate the Loser Inside by Jon Kern (Heideman Finalist/World Premiere)
The championship coach faces humiliating defeat unless he can talk his tangled tongue into making the perfect pitch.
Mickey Herman Saves the Universe by Marco Ramirez (World Premiere)
Aliens bet the world against a gamer with a bitter broken heart, and loud music.
ARSHT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, Miami
SUMMER SHORTS JUNE 2 – 26
FRIDAY JUNE 3, 2011
City Theatre’s festive kick-off featuring Jai Rodriguez & the Summer Shorts cast.
DETAILS:
6 PM
7 PM
8:30 PM
Cocktail Reception at John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall Lobby Summer Shorts Performance Cast Party with Jai & the Company
$100 per Person
RESERVE NOW! Limited Availability.
City Theatre Opening Night Reservations:
(305) 755-9401, ext. 15 or danielle@citytheatre.com
Groups of 10 or more (866) 900-7469 or groupsales@browardcenter.org
Thursday 7 PM June 30
Friday 7 PM July 1
Saturday 7 PM July 2
Sunday 5 PM July 3
·DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS: Jai Rodriguez’s hilarious, provocative and irreverent musical revue, full of “dish and tell, dirty little secrets” that will be sure to make you blush!
“A year ago we knew that we wanted to shake things up a little bit and we saw last year when we brought in Lisa Loeb and the group of writers and composers that she works with in LA it really brought our game up. We got to do new things and try new things and collaborate and it opened us up to a larger and wider audience. Summer Shorts has always been about putting great talent on stage and letting them show their stuff so we decided last year that we wanted to mix it up a little bit and bring somebody in from out of town,” Stephanie pointed out. “You don’t just want to bring somebody in to bring somebody in but you really want to bring somebody who has the chops because Summer Shorts – I don’t think people realize how incredibly demanding it is because you can’t just be a strong actor in one genre you have to be able to have a very broad range. You have to be a bit of a chameleon, you have to have an incredible work ethic because it’s very hard to be in a festival like this where you’re literally rehearsing four or five plays at the same time with different writers, different directors; so, that automatically limited the playing field.”
“We started looking at talent and Jai really, really rose to the top.
What Strong Fences Make, a short play by Israel Horovitz with Jai Rodriguez and Gregg Weiner. Image by George Schiavone.
Here’s an actor who got his start when he was eighteen-years-old on Broadway, the youngest actor to play Angel in RENT, he did THE PRODUCERS,” Stephanie said. “He has been doing wonderful dramas such as shows at Lincoln Center, SPINNING INTO BUTTER, and he certainly had the acting chops and the theater chops but then he was also one of the wonderful charismatic fabulous five who was on QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY, so there was this great familiarity because so many of us know Jai because we watched him as the Culture guy (aka: the Culture Vulture) on this show and he has been on other shows and won an Emmy® Award for the work he does. And when we started talking to Jai we had already decided we wanted him to do Summer Shorts and he told us that while he’s down here he’d love to do a revue that he has created. We thought, oh my God, not only is this guy going to do Summer Shorts, but he is bringing us DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS which is the icing on the cake.”
ARSHT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, Miami
DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS JUNE 10, 17, 19, 24
Single Tickets, Reserved Seating: $35.00 Standard Price/$17.50 Senior/Student Price
Groups of 10 or more (866) 900-7469 or groupsales@browardcenter.org
Saturday 10 PM
·CAMP KAPPAWANNA: Appropriate for ages five and up and back by popular demand is the hit family rock musical CAMP KAPPAWANNA, with hip, cool music penned by Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb. Camp Kappawanna creates an interactive environment that, from start to finish, makes everyone in the audience feel as if they are joining in the fun of summer camp!
Camp Kappawanna. L to R: Gerardo Pelati, Melanie Leibner-Perkins and Mary Sansone. Image by George Schiavone.
“We brought Camp Kappawanna back this year for a couple of reasons,” Stephanie said.” We haven’t done this in the past, but it was our first full-length musical and it’s the first time we’ve ever done a full-length much less a full-length musical and what we discovered was there was so much more work we wanted to do on the piece. We also discovered that our audiences really loved the piece. And at the end of last summer I did two things, one was that I talked to our audiences and camps and groups that came and they said they had a good time and I asked them if they’d want to see it again and interestingly enough everybody said yes,” Stephanie explained. “I knew we had something there so I went out to Los Angeles and spent some time working with Lisa Loeb, MarcoRamirez, Michelle Lewis and Dan Petty and we really looked at the show. We started Camp Kappawanna from the idea of the show to mounting it at the Arsht Center in maybe ten months tops. It was really put together really quickly and as we were rehearsing the show we were still recording musical tracks out in LA.”
“Now that we’ve had the luxury of some perspective and we can go back and look and see what worked and what didn’t work and along with feedback we were able to see the changes we wanted to make and we really wanted to add more music,” Stephanie said. “I suggested for example to Lisa that they musicalize a scene with all the kids in canoes and make it a pirate song. I have three kids and my son was eight-years-old at the time and he and everybody loves good pirate songs so they wrote this hilarious pirate song that my son has been listening to non-stop. They wrote three new songs altogether, re-worked some of the music they had, re-worked the book, and I think what we have in bringing back Camp Kappawanna is an opportunity to re-work and re-mount it. In fact, we’re doing two weeks at the Arsht Center, we’re bringing it to the Broward Center for a week and then we’re doing something we’ve never done before, we’re going to the Kravis Center for a week and we’re going up to Orlando and doingCamp Kappawanna up there; so, we’re doing all these shows in four counties in a matter of six weeks and I think that’s really great. It shows City Theatre that there’s a life for Camp Kappawanna in the larger theater continuum and I think that’s really great when you create something like that …”
“I love the entire company and Melanie Leibner Perkins (who portrays Jenny Jenkins, the lead character in the show) is amazing; and that’s another thing, there’s so much amazing talent down here in South Florida. We’ve always had terrific acting talent in Summer Shorts and now with Camp Kappawanna we’re tapping into some fantastic musical theater talent. A lot of these kids come out of programs like the New World School of the Arts and Barry University and the University of Miami and they’re incredibly talented and so Camp Kappawanna is and rightly should be a great showcase for them.”
“I knew when Melanie first read in the audition for us last year I knew she was the right person for the role,” Stephanie pointed out. “She did a fantastic job last year and I knew we wanted to bring her back. She sings, she acts, she dances and she also plays the guitar which is very unusual. We had this idea that Lisa plays the guitar and she created this character Jenny who is loosely based on Lisa Loeb, and the fact that Melanie plays the guitar – we thought we’d never find an actress who can sing and do all the things this character can do and play the guitar. And when Melanie walked into the audition with her guitar I got chills. I thought oh my God, we found her.”
Melanie Leibner Perkins, a Coral Springs native, has been kind enough to answer some questions about her experience in portraying Jenny Jenkins:
AW: When were you asked to return to Camp Kappawanna this summer? How do you feel about reprising the role of Jenny Jenkins, the role that you created?
ML: I am extremely excited to be returning to the show this summer. It’s very rewarding to be a part of the creative process of originating a role in a completely new show. There are no expectations as to how the character is usually played and therefore it gives the actor more freedom to play and explore. Although the core of Jenny’s character is mostly the same, I’m excited about some of the changes being made to the show and how that will affect Jenny.
AW: Will any of other actors be returning to reprise their roles?
ML:Jameson Hammond, the actor who created the role of Chad Banks will also be reprising his role.
AW: What is it that you like best about portraying Jenny?
ML: I think all kids go through the process of finding out who they are as a person, and it’s enjoyable to play someone who is in the early stages of that. She’s very intelligent and spunky, and she’s just learning to find the confidence to show that to the world. Going to Camp Kappawanna gives her that opportunity. I think it’s a great show for kids because so many see themselves in her.
AW: Do you see anything in Jenny that reminds you of yourself at her age?
ML: Definitely. I think everyone can find something in Jenny that reminds them of themselves. Most people aren’t born completely self-confident and I can definitely remember trying to find that during middle school. Also, Jenny really uses music and singing as an outlet to express herself, and I can really identify with that as well.
AW: After you earned a BA from the University of PA and an MA (is this correct, or is it an MFA) in Musical Theatre from Boston Conservatory, when and why did you make your way to Florida?
ML: I earned an MM, a Masters of Music in Musical Theatre from Boston Conservatory. I grew up in South Florida and attended Ramblewood Middle and Taravella High so for me it was just coming back to the place where I grew up and where my family still is.
AW: I understand that you’re a member of the theatre faculty at Nova Southeastern University, if so – what subject(s) do you teach? How long have you been teaching at Nova?
ML: This was my first year at Nova, and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to be part of a growing musical theatre program. I teach both acting and voice.
AW: Do you still offer private voice lessons? If so, how should someone get in touch with you to take lessons?
AW: If you had an opportunity to portray any character created so far in the musical theater world, what role would it be and why?
ML: I would love to play either Elphaba in Wicked or Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. They are both strong, fun, and intelligent female characters that have great songs to sing.
Spanish speaking customer service representatives are available. Thursday 10:30 AM & 1 PM June 9
Friday 10:30 AM & 1 PM June 10
Saturday 11 AM & 2 PM June 11
Sunday 1 PM June 12
WHEN & WHERE: June 2 – 26: at and in association with the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Carnival Studio Theater in Miami; June 9 – 12 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Rinker Theater in West Palm Beach; and June 30 – July 3 at and in association with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Amaturo Theater in Ft. Lauderdale.
TICKETS:
Miami: Tickets for performances in Miami available through the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Box Office at www.arshtcenter.org or (305) 949-6722
Broward: Tickets for performances in Broward available through the Broward Center’s Box Office at www.browarcenter.org or (954) 462-0222.
Palm Beach: Tickets for performances in Palm Beach available through the Kravis Center’s Box Office at www.kravis.org or (561) 832-7469 or 1 800 572 8471. Groups of 10 or more, please call 561 651 4438 or 561 651 4304/treid@kravis.org or garlisch@kravis.org.
·CITYWRIGHTS: NEW PLAY LAB: City Theatre will be launching the CITYWRIGHTS: NEW PLAY LAB June 23 – 26, bringing playwrights from South Florida and nationwide to Miami for a productive weekend of master classes, workshops, mentoring, public readings and forums. CityWrights’ goal is the creation of new plays that will flourish on stages in South Florida and beyond.Panelists include playwrights Israel Horovitz and Lisa Kron; Larry Harbison, Senior Editor for Smith & Kraus, the nation’s largest theatrical trade publisher; noted literary agent Susan Schulman and leadership from The Dramatists Guild of America including Director of Business Affairs David Faux and Executive Director for Creative Affairs Gary Garrison. This event will be held in association with The Dramatists Guild of America, the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the EPIC Hotel and American Airlines.
“We started City Theatre sixteen years ago as company dedicated to doing new work and I have to tell you that in sixteen years we’ve probably received about five to six thousand plays. I don’t think a day goes by that we don’t get a script submission and last year alone we got twelve hundred plays.If you look at the number of plays we produce at Summer Shorts, less than 1% of the plays we receive get produced on our stages, so that leaves a lot of writers who are creating new work, who send it to us, and we don’t really have any opportunity to interact with them, and we also don’t get a chance to take work we may be interested in and developing it further,” Stephanie said. “CITYWRIGHTS is really the next logical step for us. We want to bring playwrights together from all over the country and have a weekend of workshops and consider it like the Sundance for theater, bringing together a lot of artists, doing workshops and master classes and readings; there’s a lot of opportunity to network, we’re doing it in association with The Dramatists Guild of America.”
“They picked us in Miami as one of five cities around the country that they’re working with to do programming of this caliber, so we bring the leadership of the DGA that also gives us playwrights, the Director of Business Affairs from the DGA is going to talk about entertainment law, copyright, playwrights protecting their work; we’re bringing in publishers, literary agents, it’s a little bit of everything and for us we felt it made perfect sense to put on something like CITYWRIGHTS right in the middle of our festival of new works because not only during the day will we be doing classes, workshops and seminars, but in the evening we’re going to be going to the theater and they’ll be seeing the new work that we’re doing and hopefully it will inspire them to create all kinds of great new plays that will be seen on our stages in the coming years,” Stephanie said. “In South Florida we really have come a long way in the last ten to twenty years and who would’ve thought we’d be the home to one of the world’s largest contemporary art fairs in the country and one of the top two in the world with Art Basel, and we’re the largest literary fair in the country with Miami Book Fair International and you look at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and the South Beach Food & Wine Festival and Miami has really put itself on the map with people like Mitchell Kaplan, Lee Schrager, Dennis Scholl, Craig Robins and more and we said well, we’re here and maybe we can do the same thing as far as creating new work in our genre which is theater.”
CITYWRIGHTS WEEKEND FOR PLAYWRIGHTS CONTACT INFORMATION:
All programming will take place at the EPIC Hotel (270 Biscayne Boulevard Way) and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (1300 N. Biscayne Blvd).
Phone:305-755-9401 ext. 10 Fax: 305-755-9404 Mail: City Theatre 444 Brickell Ave, Suite 299 Miami, FL 33131
PACKAGE OPTIONS:These fees include CityWrights Workshops, two continental breakfasts, Sunday brunch, and three tickets to City Theatre Performances. These fees do NOT include hotel reservations.
Reservations rates AFTER May 20
Playwright – General Rate$440
2010 Heideman Award Finalists$390
Dramatists Guild – current members$390
South Florida Theatre League – current members$300
Student Fee $250 Afternoon Professional Development Panel Day Rate$50
Weekend Getaway rates for the Industry$90
Tickets to Summer Shorts, Dirty Little Secrets and Camp Kappawanna
ADDITIONAL CITY THEATRE PERFORMANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT REDUCED RATE OF $30 PER TICKET.
A Toledo, OH native, a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, afreelance writer forLighthouse Point Magazine and the a cultural arts columnist for AroundWellington.com Her photographs have appeared in these publications, in many Ohio periodicals, as well as in The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was produced in Los Angeles at both the First Stage and the Lone Star Ensemble theater companies, in Florida at Lynn University and at an Off-Broadway playhouse in NYC. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award,Actors Theatre of Louisville. Please check out the re-prints of her interviews with authors Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson and Dexter novelist Jeff Lindsay in the October 2010 issue #2 and Chris Bohjalian in the April 2011 issue #3 of Duff Brenna’sServingHouse: A Journal of Literary Arts at www.servinghousejournal.com. You can contact her at marlaschwartz@att.net.
WELLINGTON ROTARY CLUB BREAKS RECORD WITH ITS SCHOOLS PEACE INITIATIVE CONTESTS
The Wellington Rotary Club again sponsored various contests as part of its Annual Peace Initiative Program.Schools throughout the community participated during April and May in poster, poetry and essay contests.The involvement of the Wellington school children was tremendous and broke all previous records for submissions.The object, in all cases, was to present a view of conflict resolution and multicultural understanding aimed at the promotion of world peace and understanding.
2011 Peace Poster
The winners have been announced. The Peace Poster competition for all fourth graders proved to be a close decision as there were many wonderful posters from all of the contestants. This year’s competition attracted over 340 submissions. Wellington’s elementary schools participated for a prize of $50 to each schools winning student, as well as a $50 prize to the class room teacher of each winning student. An overall winner from all of the finalists was chosen and will receive a $75 check.
Panther Run.Sophia Lorello. Student.Mrs. Culp. Teacher;Binks Forest.Julia Wortman. Student.Mrs. Carney. Teacher.All will receive a $50 prize.
The overall winner was from New Horizons.Veronica Garcia-Parra will receive a $75 prize. Her teacher is Mrs. McCloud who will receive $50 prize.
The overall winning poster will also be used as part of the Rotary Club’s advertising campaign.
The club also received poems from the Middle Schools.The winners were, Emerald Cove Middle School. Judy Yang and Wellington Landings Middle School, Natalie Gomez. Both captured the spirit of the peace initiative. A special thank you also to their teachers Amy Yuzanas and Kerry Emery.A prize of $75 is awarded to each student.
The theme of the essay competition for high school students was based upon the words of the Dalai Lama.“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.”
The winners of this competition were. Tyler Bergman of Wellington Community High School and Kayla Goldstein of Palm Beach Central High School. Thank you to their teachers Ms. Cooperman and Ms Ostaffe for their work in guiding the students. Both students will receive a $100 prize.
All of the winners will receive their prizes at the UN Peace Day ceremony at the Wellington Rotary Peace Park on Royal Fern Drive at 6pm on September 21st.The Rotary wish to invite all of the winners, their teachers and families, to attend the celebration.
The Rotary Club congratulates all the students and teachers who participated and thanks the volunteers from the Wellington Rotary who liaised with the schools.
The Rotary Club and the Village of Wellington look forward to seeing everyone at the ceremony on September 21st.
Text Marketing- A Real Ah-Ha Moment for Small Business Success!
By David Spatz
3.5 billion text messages are sent every day.
97% of all text messages are opened.
83% of all texts are opened within the first hour of receipt.
The fastest growing group of people texting are those 30 years old and over.
Suddenly many businesses looking to expand their customer base are having an “Ah-Ha” moment when it comes to Text Marketing.
In this day and age of digital information overload, text messaging may be the closest thing to a guaranteed read. Why? Because people are practically tethered to their phones, 24/7. Even if they can’t get e-mails on their phones, they still get text messages.
Text marketing has been around for a while, only being used by the “big” guys. For a few years now, corporate giants such as Pizza Hut, Chili’s, and Target have been using text messaging to enhance sales. JetBlue, American Airlines and other airline carriers now use text messaging to update flight arrival/departure information and send gate change notifications – allowing them to reach customers easily and electronically saving thousands of dollars each year.
Now what about the small business owner? How can text messaging best serve as an expansion of company branding and accelerate business building? This is where their own “Ah-Ha” moment comes in!
Mobile Keywords are all over TV, radio, magazines and Fortune 500 websites. Once consumers text a specified Keyword to a 4 or 5 digit code, they give permission that allows companies to send direct response campaigns regarding various promotions, coupons, sales alerts and other important individualized news!
Can you just start texting your promotions to people on your own? Just as you are required to get permission to send people e-mail marketing messages, you must also get permission to market via text messages. It is called “permission based” marketing. Congress is now proposing stiff financial penalties for text spammers, so use of a legitimate service is more important than ever.
Yuval Madar, president of a successful Mobile Marketing Company, says, “By using a mobile marketing platform that follows Mobile Marketing Association and Carrier rules and guidelines, your messages are guaranteed to be delivered, and your customers’ experience is positive! Mobile is a cost and time- efficient channel that reaches customers who give you permission to give them what they want…access to your products and services.”
So how can text message marketing help your business?
1) Brand awareness: Regular messaging will immediately remind your database of your brand and your products/services.
2) Build relationships: Providing value through marketing messages will make those that receive them appreciative of what you offer them.
3) Increase sales: When you have a sale, you want to get the word out quickly, to as many people as possible and because people read their text messages in lightning speed, your items will leave the shelves more quickly!
Coupons: Send coupon codes for discounts on products and/or services. By using a coupon codes you’re able to know who is reading your text message and get a better understanding of how your text marketing efforts are doing overall. Also, when you send out coupon codes your faithful customers may begin to take advantage of them more often.
Appointment Reminders: It has been proven that medical/veterinarian professionals can decrease missed appointments by almost 20-30%, which also decreases missed revenue.
So now it’s time for your Ah-Ha moment. To take a look at how text marketing will benefit your business, call 888-415-5657 or visit www.merchantmobilemedia.com and see how easy and affordable it is to boost your business with text marketing.
David Spatz has been involved with Sales and Marketing in South Florida since 1988. He enjoys showing others how to create successful marketing campaigns and teaching others how to grow their business. When he is not working at lending his expertise to companies, he is enjoying his free time with wife Lois and their two children in Wellington, FL.
Just a few highlights of happenings Around Wellington. For many more photos, visit the link “Photo Galleries” on this site! For recent videos, click on our “Videos” link.
An award presentation at the annual "Heroes in Medicine" ceremony at the Kravis Center, sponsored by the Palm Beach Medical Society, on May 11th. Photo by Carol Porter. Supporters of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life all-nighter walk in Wellington in May, 2011. Photo by Lois Spatz.The Palms West Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Florida Green, Energy and Climate Conference/Expo and 100 Cities Summit was held from May 17 through May 18, 2011 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Photo by Carol Porter."Laugh Out Loud" stand-up comedy, presented by the WEI Network at the Wellington Amphitheatre on May 27th. Photo by Krista Martinelli.
The Mighty Wolverine Sound band and majorettes celebrated the end of another fantastic year at Wellington High School Friday during their annual Band Awards Banquet on May 6 at Binks Forest Country Club. Photo by Lois Spatz.
his many fishing expeditions. June 4th aboard the Blue Heron II 
