Category Archives: Arts

Mollie Donovan’s Art Auction

Posted on April 17, 2012 | 2 Comments

When Mollie Donovan died a year ago, Westport mourned. A vibrant, creative and very bright woman was gone. On a more practical — and selfish — level, we worried that her many areas of expertise — arranging Westport Historical Society exhibits, for example, or hanging paintings for the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection — would be lost forever too.

Mollie Donovan

Though Mollie was irreplaceable, she continues to give back to her favorite activities. The donations made in her name are one example. An event this Saturday (April 21, 7 p.m., Westport Playhouse Barn) is another.

The “Mollie Gala Art Auction” features 100 high-quality pieces. They come from local and regional artists — and as far as Barcelona. Westporters Leonard Fisher, Hardie Gramatky and Howard Munce are represented; so is Modesto Cuixart, who in 1959 was selected over Picasso as best painter at the São Paolo Bienal.

The auction is a fundraiser for the Westport Historical Society, one of Mollie’s many beloved organizations. There will be beautiful art, with silent and live bidding; music from a string quartet and pianist, and plenty of food and wine.

It’s a typical Mollie Donovan event: classy, artistic, and all for a good cause.

A year after she left us, she’s still helping her hometown out.

(Tickets are $60 until Friday, April 20; $65 at the door. Click here to purchase.)

Some of the art on sale at this Saturday's "Mollie Gala." Enjoying the scene is Kristan Peters-Hamlin, chairwoman of the event. (Photo/Larry Untermeyer)

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Posted in Arts, Organizations, People

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Should This Woman Move To Westport?

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 140 Comments

You won’t believe the stuff that pops into my inbox.

The other day, a very cool-sounding woman emailed me. Long story short: She’s a native Californian who spent the last 7 years in Greenwich Village. She’s a freelance graphic designer, with a great portfolio.

Greenwich Village... (Photo/Loolie)

Now she, her husband and 2-year-old girl (who really has no say in the matter) are thinking of moving to the ‘burbs. They’re looking at a couple of places: Westport and Darien.

She searched the interwebs for “writers or passionate Westporters who could enlighten me on what to look forward to, or what I’ve been missing.”

Ta-da:  “06880″!

I could talk all day about Westport: the good, the bad and the truly bizarre.

...or the village of Westport?

But she was looking for Westporters — plural — so let’s open it up to “06880″ readers. You guys never lack for opinions.

Just click “Comments,” and let the fun begin. Should this arts-oriented woman — and her husband and little kid — abandon New York City for Westport?

What will she find here? What will she love, or loathe? If you had it to do over again, would you?

And on and on.

Be truthful. Be real. But please, be fair.

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Posted in Arts, Children, People, Westport life

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Peter Green: Renaissance Stained Glass Man

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 5 Comments

For classic suits and classy jewelry, Westporters head to Mitchells. If you’re looking for music, it’s Sally’s Place.

But where do you go for all your custom stained glass needs?

Peter Green's stained glass makes a great window if you want privacy in your tub.

Try Renaissance Studio. It’s a bit off the beaten path — in the back of a handsome home on Imperial Avenue — but it’s a one-stop shop for designing, creating, repairing and restoring stained (and clear leaded) glass windows.

Plus very cool glass etching, bowl making, and anything else  your parents told you you’d never make a living doing.

Owner/artisan Peter Green keeps a low profile. He’s been in town since 1969, but last week was the first time I’d heard of him. True, I don’t have a lot of stained glass needs, but still…

Peter — who grew up in Yorktown Heights, and always had an artistic bent — started his Westport business in an old fieldstone ice weighing station next to Nash’s Pond. He then moved to Saugatuck Avenue.

Peter Green and a small sample of his work, outside his studio.

His current digs — the house dates back to 1890 — are very cool. Peter designed all 3 floors to his specs. He’s got a wood shop, a wall where he draws his designs, welding equipment, and hundreds of brushes and jars of pulverized glass.

So who buys stained glass?

Nope — not churches. It’s mostly homeowners, he says, looking to spiff up an entryway, skylight or room divider — or creatively make sure no one from outside can peer into a bathroom. Wine cellars are big too.

When he worked near Nash’s Pond, Peter would close down at midday for a swim. Now he swims at the Y. He hopes to donate a work for their new pool.

“I’d love to give back to one of the few nurturing towns in the country willing and able to make my dreamed-of life become a reality,” he says. Peter is inspired by the philanthropy of Westporters like the Mitchell and Paul Newman families.

Just as his work inspires many others. Even if we’ve never heard Peter Green’s name.

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Posted in Arts, Local business, People, YMCA

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Local Authors Find E-Publishing “A Godsend”

Posted on March 28, 2012 | 7 Comments

Westporter Richard Marek is no stranger to publishing.

He spent 40 years in the business, including a stint as president and publisher of E.P. Dutton. He discovered Robert Ludlum, edited 4 books by James Baldwin, and published people like Peter Straub and Richard Condon.

Richard Marek and Dalma Heyn. (Photo/Pam Barkentin Blackburn)

But when he and his wife, social commentator and author (The Erotic Silence of the American Wife) Dalma Heyn wrote their 1st book together, more than a dozen editors had strong suggestions.

All of them different.

Change the hero, one said.

Change the heroine, advised another.

Add more sex.

Take out some of the sex.

Exhausted, Richard and Dalma put A Godsend: A Love Story For Grownups in a drawer.

They thought there was a market for this tough-to-classify “love story for all of us who are no longer kids,” but the people who offer contracts and actually publish books were not so sure.

A year later, Richard and Dalma talked to David Wilk. The “head trickster” of Booktrix — a publishing consultancy firm — and son of noted Westporters Max and Barbara Wilk, David thought Godsend would be a good candidate for digital publishing.

David handled all the details. He got the book onto every popular e-reader: Kindles, Nooks, iPads.

Now Richard and Dalma are sitting back, waiting for the money to roll in.

Or not.

“I’ve published 3 books,” she says. “They all had advances. We’re not sure what will happen with this one.”

“No one knows how to make any money on ebooks,” he adds.

So why are they publishing this way?

“The industry is changing,” Richard notes. “After so many years in it, I’m fascinated to see how this works.”

“It’s a great book,” Dalma says. “It’s fun to see how this Wild West of publishing handles something like this.”

A Nook Simple Touch.

Without a standard publisher, e-book authors must handle all the marketing themselves.

“You have to be knowledgeable about the internet, and spend 17 hours a day at it,” she says. They’re not, and they aren’t.

But, according to Richard, the flip side of e-publishing is “your book never dies. When I was in business, books died after 3 months.”

With no shelf life — because there are no shelves — books can gain audiences slowly. Every Valentine’s Day, Dalma says, she and her husband will launch a new marketing campaign.

Of course, Richard and Dalma are doing a bit of old-fashioned marketing too: book talks. Tomorrow (Thursday, March 29, 7 p.m.) they’re at the Westport Barnes & Noble.

They’ll discuss their latest work. They’ll share insights on e-publishing.

They’ll also hold a drawing for a Nook Simple Touch.

So the winner can read A Godsend — and 2.5 million other books — without ever having to set foot in a bookstore again.

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If You Build It,They Will Come To The Maker Faire

Posted on March 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last September, Mark Mathias took his kids to the New York Maker Faire. The event — an exhibition/showcase/festival where techies, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, musicians, engineers, artists, students and anyone else entertains, informs and connects with kindred spirits of all ages and backgrounds — inspired the entire family.

Mark’s son was especially impressed with the marshmallow shooter, made from PVC pipe.

Three months later, for his 7th birthday, he and his friends build a similar contraption. “They learned about plumbing, projectiles and air flow,” Mark says. “And they had fun.”

Alan Winick will exhibit his personal submersible yellow submarine at the Maker Faire. Eight feet long and 2300 pounds, it has gone 120 feet deep in Long Island Sound.

On Saturday, April 28 the Maker Faire comes to Westport. The 1st event of its kind in Connecticut, it will fill the Westport Library and Jesup Green with contraptions, crafts, art, engineering, food, music, robots, rockets, magicians, jugglers, and whatever the cat drags in.

Over 50 exhibitors will provide demonstrations, hands-on-workshops and do-it-yourself resources. Anyone and everyone is invited to make, build, design, hack, eat, drink, listen, create and play.

The Maker Faire has already inspired a number of people. When Mathias asked the library for use of the McManus Room, Bill Derry — assistant director for innovation and user experience (!) — did more. He offered the Great Hall and Children’s Library too.

Westport Sunrise Rotary provided seed money. The Downtown Merchants Association will sponsor a “Battle of the Homemade Bands.” (That’s right: make your own instruments. You’ll be judged on creativity, tonal quality — and fun.)

A Rube Goldberg Competition begins with a pile of stuff (maybe a lawn chair, tubes, marbles — whatever the aforementioned cat drags in). Participants then construct a contraption in true Goldberg fashion.

You could call Westport’s Maker Faire a celebration of invention, creativity and resourcefulness.

Or you could just call it “way cool.”

(The free Westport Mini Maker Faire is set for Saturday, April 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Library and Jesup Green. All are welcome. For more information, email royfuchs@snet.net or call 203-856-4321. The deadline to apply as an exhibiting “Maker” is April 1; click here for a form. In honor of their 30th anniversary, CLASP Homes is a co-presenter.)

Mike Ogrinz is a longtime robot builder. The one on the left was constructed with cardboard and tin foil. His B9 robot (right, from "Lost in Space") will be on display at the Westport Maker Faire.

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Education, Entertainment, Library, Organizations, People, technology

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“Smash”: The Bernadette Peters Sequel

Posted on March 20, 2012 | 2 Comments

Yesterday morning “06880″ profiled David Marshall Grant, the Staples grad now serving as executive producer/writer of NBC’s new hit series “Smash.”

A few hours later, the show featured a shout-out to the Westport Country Playhouse.

Last night’s storyline alluded to the character played by musical theater legend Bernadette Peters singing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (from “Gypsy”) at the playhouse.

Although “Gypsy” has never actually been produced there, in 1966 Peters appeared at the playhouse in the musical “Riverwind.” She returned to that stage in 2008 to present a special tribute to Angela Lansbury.

Last September, Peters herself was honored with Westport Country Playhouse’s Distinguished Dedication and Service to the American Musical Theater Award.

As they say in TV land, “stay tuned” to “Smash” for more Westport references.

(Click here to view last night’s show. The Playhouse reference can be heard at about 00:54.)

Bernadette Peters and Weston's James Naughton at last year's Westport Country Playhouse Gala. (Photo/Kathleen O'Rourke)

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, People, Westport Country Playhouse

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David Marshall Grant’s Latest “Smash”

Posted on March 19, 2012 | 2 Comments

Westporters know David Marshall Grant from his starring roles with Staples Players back in the early 1970s.

Television viewers remember him for his groundbreaking role as Russell Weller in “thirtysomething.” Broadway fans recall his Tony Award-nominated performance in “Angels in America.” Moviegoers have seen him in “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Now David Marshall Grant is hard at work on “Smash.”

David Marshall Grant

NBC’s new drama premiered last month to enormous fanfare. It’s a pull-out-all-stops innovation: a prime time soap opera about the backstage drama involved in the creation of a big Broadway musical.

NBC is betting the house on “Smash.” And Grant — as executive producer/writer — is one of the reasons the network thinks “Smash” will be a smash.

(Other reasons: executive producer Steven Spielberg, actress Anjelica Huston, plus original music and Josh Bergasse’s choreography. Joining the ensemble cast soon: Uma Thurman and Bernadette Peters.)

Grant knows its tough finding an audience for a TV show about a Broadway musical. But, he told the TV website The Futon Critic, “A lot of the key audience in America loves Broadway musicals, and I think the Broadway community is very central part of America’s cultural identity. I think that a Broadway musical is a cultural icon, so I was always optimistic that a show that has great music…would attract an audience.”

The characters form intricate relationships. Plot points are clever — and of course, there is plenty of music and dancing.

“Every number is intoxicating,” Grant told the Hartford Courant. “I defy America not to like that music and want to download it the next day.” (The show is plugged into iTunes, which helps a lot.)

It’s a bit more complex than “Brothers & Sisters” — the ABC series Grant worked on as screenwriter, story editor and head showrunner.”

“Smash” even has a nod to “the great old days” of music and choreography, Grant told the Courant — “even extending to the way it’s filmed. There’s a nod to the great heyday of the MGM musicals. It’s more romantic.”

David Marshall Grant in "Rotten Tomatoes."

Growing up in Westport, Grant was not one of those go-to-Broadway-every-weekend theater geeks. But Staples gave him a great introduction to theater. He honed his skills at the Yale School of Drama, then embarked on a long career on stage and screen (plus TV). He’s had roles in “Bent,” “The Stepford Wives,” “CSI: Miami” and “Law & Order.”

He’s also a playwright (“Snakebit” and “Pen”).

But right now — nearly 40 years after first starring at Staples — David Marshall Grant is still enchanted by theater, in all its forms.

Just because a Broadway musical hasn’t been the subject of a TV series before doesn’t mean that it can’t be, well, a smash.

“If people see the right musical done the right way, they’re going to respond,” he told the Courant. “I really have high hopes for a public appreciation of this art form.”

(“Smash” airs Monday nights at 10.)

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, People, Staples HS

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“Hamlet” Spoiler Alert: Everyone Dies!

Posted on March 15, 2012 | 3 Comments

Calypso makes Odysseus build “the US Airways of rafts.”

After 10 years — or the time it takes to read this story — Odysseus returns to his homeland of Ithaca.

Odysseus’ crew makes the Titanic staff look like NASA.

That’s The Odyssey in a nutshell. Say goodbye, Cliff Notes. Adios, Spark Notes.

Say hello, HighSchoolSummary.com!

Max Lance

The website — offering 4-minute summaries of high school English class standbys like The Odyssey, A Tale of Two Cities and Macbeth in clever web-video cartoon form — is the brainchild of Max Lance.

Before graduating from Staples in 2002 — and going on to NYU, USC film school and a career as a stand-up comic, screenwriter and author of the best-selling Amazon Kindle Single Crazy Girls — Max read his share of those English class, um, staples.

Now he’s turned them into an internet sensation.

“Hamlet” is about an emo teenager who is bad with confrontation.

Spoiler: Everyone dies.

Max — who lives in Los Angeles — works with his brother Dan (Staples ’05), a New York-based cinematographer, video producer and part-time editor for Fox News.

The first step, Max says, is to actually re-read each book. “When I was in high school, I could care less,” he says. “Now I think they’re pretty neat.”

He writes a one-page plot summary — straight up, no jokes — and then adds humor. There are sly asides, pop culture references, and plenty of sexual innuendoes.

After 4 or 5 drafts, Max tapes his shtick. He emails the sound file to Dan, who animates the summary to sync with the audio.

The site has caught on. Within 2 days of the Great Gatsby posting, it had 10,000 hits.

Max markets the videos through Reddit, BuzzFeed, CollegeHumor, his own blog, and  tweets and Facebook posts. But many students find it just by — desperately — searching for the books they were supposed to have already finished reading for an essay due tomorrow.

“That’s not why we did the site,” Max says. “We just thought we’d put up funny summaries for people who know the books. But if that’s part of our audience, fine.”

“1984″ is a really inaccurate portrayal of the year 1984.

Dan Lance

Of course, the brothers hear from folks who accuse them of butchering their favorite books. As a stand-up comic, he’s used to people who don’t think humor is funny.

Next up: Huck Finn. The website also offers a list of future suggestions, for users to vote. It includes classics like Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies and Grapes of Wrath.

But already, Max and Dan have branched out beyond high school literature. “Art History” includes these observations:

The Phoenicians [illustrated with a map of Phoenix, Arizona] and Greeks perfected the technique of boring pieces of chipped pottery, which we ignore in museums.

Four Renaissance artists — Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello — are better known asNinja Turtles.

Chiaroscuro is an SAT word!

(To see all the HighSchoolSummary videos, click here.)

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Taking Teen Actors “Into The Woods”

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

David Roth is a Stephen Sondheim aficionado.

In the spring of 2002 Roth was in his 2nd year as director of Staples Players. In the aftermath of 9/11 — with Americans still shell-shocked and saddened — he replaced his original spring production choice with “Into the Woods.”

The Sondheim musical weaves together several popular fairy tales. It’s funny and uplifting. A major theme — how people from different walks of life band together in the face of crisis — fit well with the country’s post-9/11 mood. It won the prestigious Moss Hart Award — one criteria of which is “social relevance.”

Ten years later, Staples Players are again producing “Into the Woods.” This time, though, 9/11 has faded from most Americans’ memories.

And something else has changed: Two years ago, Lucy Roth was born.

Amanda Horowitz (Little Red Riding Hood) and Clay Singer (Jack, of beanstalk fame), in the 2012 Staples Players production of "Into the Woods." (Photo/Kerry Long)

Being a father — and working with co-director Kerry Long, who plays dual roles as his wife and Lucy’s mother — has caused Roth to examine “Into the Woods” with fresh eyes.

“I realize now there’s another theme: the legacy parents leave for their kids,” he says.

“After Lucy was born, Kerry and I see how our actions are reflected in her.”

Songs like “Children Will Listen” have influenced the couple’s direction of the current production, Roth says.

A tale of 2 princes: Cinderella's (Charlie Greenwald, left) and Rapunzel's (Tyler Jent). (Photo/Kerry Long)

In fairy tales, Roth now realizes, “there are almost no fathers.” Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella — all referenced in “Into the Woods” — have forced the director to think deeply about fatherhood.

In the show’s “new” fairy tale, a baker and his wife try to begin a family. They finally succeed –  but the wife dies, and the baker must bring up the child alone.

“We’re focusing on those things more,” Roth notes. “Last time we concentrated more on the havoc the giant was inflicting on people, and how they overcame it.”

Roth and Long have used their insights as parents to help their teenage actors understand the dreams their parents have for them. “We share some of our own personal experiences,” he says. “We describe our discoveries as parents, and how we’re learning about life through Lucy.”

Joanna Gleason — who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of the baker’s wife — spent time with the Staples cast. She too discussed how the show resonates with her as a parent. (Then she went into the studio, to tape some audio. She will be heard on the Staples stage, as the voice of the giant.)

David Roth and Kerry Long have taken their young — but very talented — Staples actors on a long journey “Into the Woods.” This weekend and next, audiences will marvel at how far they’ve all come.

(“Into the Woods” is performed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and  Sunday, March 16, 17, 23 and 24, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. Click here to order tickets; click here for more information.)

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Posted in Arts, Children, People, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Let The Games Begin

Posted on March 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

File this under whichever category you want: “Signs of the Apocalypse,” or “Meeting Kids Exactly Where They Are Today.”

Back in the 1940s this was a typical scene at Mahackeno, the Westport Y’s long-running summer camp:

Here’s a photo from last summer:

(That’s laser tag, for those of you not down with modern games.)

Building on last year’s success, Camp Mahackeno introduces special “theme weeks” this year — 1 for each of the 8 weeks camp is in session.

They include Olympics, space week, sports of all sorts, science week, travel around the world, holiday week, and arts week (in conjunction with the Westport Arts Center).

Traditionalists, take heart: One of the sessions is called “Water Week.”

Hey, it’s still summer. No one’s changed that.

Yet.

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