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NEWSLETTER - Winter 2001Happy Birthday, East End Ensemble!!
As of November 19th, 2000 we are officially one year old! Join us in a retrospective which shares who was here then, and what East End has in store for the coming season.
Chronological History of events and happenings over the past year:
September and October 1999 - East End Ensemble rents out it's present home, an 1100 sq. ft. loft. on Livingston street-Garrett saw an ad at the Eastern Athletic which was too good to be true. ( Miracles still exist!). Garrett meets Tawanna Kane (the second miracle!), for the first time on a random Sunday night at the Park Slope Brewery, in Brooklyn Heights. Tawanna accepts the challenge of helping to open up The East End Ensemble. Besides a paint job, a carpeting of the stairs, and a replacement of the lights, the artist who once lived in the space had to be acknowledged and then, cleared. It seems that there was a ghost living in the loft, but that fact had been left out of the lease!
How did we discover this? Well, besides the other tenants in the building dropping a few hints, at our second FNAWS (Friday Night After Work Series) ,things simply disappeared and then reappeared in the most unlikely of places! However, we do feel that our resident spirit is good and we hope that he feels the same about us!
"The Friday Night After Work Series" is a modern day salon which is held once a month. The idea behind it was and is to bring a diversity of many art forms to people working and living in and around the neighborhood and to enable a networking environment within a living room like setting.
The opening show was held on November 19th, 1999. It featured the work of two of Brooklyn Height's long time residents, Tom Callan, and Donald G. Smith. Smith's work was a haunting oil and acrylics series entitled Approaching Her. Callan's black and white photo essays of New York captured and laid in high relief many different cross sections of the city and her people. Portions of playwright Sarah Brown's work, Flowers in the Desert was read.
The first show was an incredible success and there were many people who went above the call of duty to make sure that happened. Abigail Regier helped to coordinate and promote the show, Heights Café owner, Joe Secondino and local and loyal patrons were all in attendance, Monica Timmons wrote a beautiful article for us which was printed in the Heights Press and the Daily News' Gayle DeWees made sure that we were the headliner in the 72 Hour-what to do for the weekend section.Gayle has been extremely supportive continually and we owe her and everyone mentioned and even the people who we have neglected to mention by name, a world of gratitude.
December featured music by Andrew Morris and the Ruth Trio, and performance artist Liam Clancy provoked us into laughter with his physical and sharp witted rendition of the new job trainee. Diane Brown's poetry had a particular take on life and had us laughing and questioning our own lives and loves.
January kept us warm with Runcie Tatnall's slice-of-life oil paintings, Tom Callan's inspiring photos and the comedic talents of Terriane Falcone.
Many of the comedians and monologists who perform at East End have performed at the Duplex, Caroline's Comedy Club, and Gotham Comedy to name a few.
February brought another of Brooklyn Height's own to the forefront. Glen Gerson's photographs of police confrontation, subway transients and the club scene made for interesting contrasts. His use of coloring also defined his perspective and passion.
The March show had an extremely inspiring story connected to the artist. Andrew Robinson was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and was told he would never walk again, let alone recover. In a wheel chair , then on crutches and finally walking without any aide , his photographic essay titled „Nature as Hieroglyph‰ was taken while he recovered in Jerusalem , proving the majority of his doctors wrong.. These photos are now in a permanent display at Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park, Brooklyn. We are proud to have been the first organization that helped him show this work. In addition to Robinson's show, excerpts from John Biscello's Mock Destiny was read, Clara Bjill helped us to find the French in ourselves and love doing it, and Bruce Rose's sexy sax played into the night. (If the name sounds familiar it should, he is the musician husband of bartender Annie Rose of Heights Café fame).
April, also known to us all as tax month was the „I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it any more „ Fnaws (Friday Night After Work Series). Musical guests were Audio Poolside featuring Richard Douglass.
Jane Roth had us rolling in the aisles and cheering at the same time for her character „Bernice",the old theatrical seamstress who finally gets her day in the sun.
Selections were read from Robert Sarnoff's moving" Brooklyn Trilogy. An incredible feast for the eyes was displayed by „The Young Artist's Collective" and featured work by Runcie Tatnall, Chad Collins, Patrick Zemarel and Eric Brookins.
May graced us with Joe Montepaperto and his emotionally charged and highly passionate character, Vanessa Fuentes-the drag queen whose lover is on the NYPD! We want to see Vanessa here at East End again! The artwork was intensely different and diverse. James Stuart's mammoth caricatures of life which began with Lillith and ended in the Hamptons via poolside were faintly reminiscent of one another, and Makeelah Amani's passionate, colorful and sometimes disturbing paintings of her experience being an African- American woman in America, helped to provoke our conscience. The Brooklyn Music Consortium rounded out the evening's events with it's eclectic and memorable style.
June showed off the digital "Big Babies" of Chris Twomey, a reading from Robert Sarnoff's new play-Got Balls, the stellar talents of Miriam Albert, and Joe Montepurto's Jersey shore boy, Doobs Mackena whose main complaint after surviving the World Trade bombing is that Rite-Aid has completely ruined his childhood town.
We had a poetry slam in August with Felice Belle, Ralph Maldonado and Willie Perdomo.
It was quite a year! Thank you all for coming and participating in our inaugural year!
Poem of the month:
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow
Langston Hughes
This poem is dedicated to three dreamers who no longer dream on earth. We miss you .
MONICA TIMMONS
HOWARD HOWIE IFEL
ANDREW MORRIS
IN REMEMBRANCE
All in the Family: Membership at EEE
In order for us to continue to offer you our exciting cultural events, and networking opportunities, we are offering an EEE membership. Yes, a membership just like the infamous channel 13 .Only, we promise we will not be calling you on the phone. (Sheesh! Thank our lucky stars! I am continually looking for new and creative ways to say NO! phone solicitors. I am sorry but the whole family has just blasted off to the moon !) (OK, maybe not to the moon but definitely to Cleveland!)
We will not pester you on the telephone or in any other manner. However, we would love for you to say "YES" to becoming a member. Our members will get a choice of events which will be discounted ,depending on which membership you choose. As an EEE member you will be helping to support our goal of keeping the arts in the downtown Brooklyn area alive and well. You will receive a membership card good for discounts on our concert series, seminars, readings and parties and you will receive a complimentary gift proclaiming that you support Brooklyn and the East End Ensemble.
Memberships are $25 ( artists and actors), $45 (neighborhood friend), $65 (neighborhood best friend) and $75.00 (Guardian Angel).
We know from your output that you love the whole idea of The East End Ensemble and we are forever grateful for your support and your love. After all, it is no small feat making a new business work and without you we are nothing ( to paraphrase Sandra Bernhart slightly). However, as with most artistic venues it is you, the tried and true patron of the arts who help us to thrive.
What else will you get as a member? You will get a good feeling in your soul! Amen!
We encourage you all to become EEE members. If you have not received a membership request, and would like to join, please call us a t 718-403-9248.
Check Check out our website: Eastendensemble.com
Into the new millennium
What is in store for 2001? This year our focus is on cultural events. The first of our concert series was held on Thursday, December 21st with the Jazz Beatniks. Mike T. joined Bruce Rose and others to create a unique sound of skin drums, voices and saxophone. The result was an incredible show combining African, Caribbean and jazz influences. On several Sundays we will present a series of literary teas where people can gather on cold winter afternoons and warm up by reading pieces which they love, or share their own work while sipping and nibbling delicious refreshments. Also, a writer's roundtable is forming which will meet once a month. Look out for staged readings of new works and the possible staging of some old but not forgotten classics. Keep an eye out for our comedy/improv night, a 70's and 80's disco dance party and our SASSY SISTER cocktail party. We will continue to give our Friday Night After Work series, featuring Brooklyn and Manhattan's hottest artists, musicians, actors and writers.
Also, we have added children's parties with a dramatic theme enabling everyone involved to have a fantastic time, improvising, dancing, and acting. Parents can custom make their party by discussing themes, or specific loves that their child has with one of our staff members.
Happy New Year 2001!
Garrett
Kathleen
John
Ask us about
SASSYSISTER WEEKEND RETREATS
An innovative concept in Public Speaking for Women
PSST!! Our New Space opens on Smith Street in May of 2001!
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