Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Spaghetti Dinner

Sunday, February 25th, 7:30 PM

Jalopy Theatre

315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn

Savor the flavors of new work by Great Small Works and Friends

and... Spaghetti To-Go!


$20 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Tickets available at https://www.viewcy.com/e/great_small_works_spa
or at the door
Out of Covid safety concerns, we will not break bread (or spaghetti) together. but **Everyone will go home with a container of R. Rossi's special pasta!**
Masks required.
Featuring:



"Ten Sentences: On the Life of Robert Walser"
by Mark Sussman
A native of Biel, Switzerland, Robert Walser has been described as “a clairvoyant of the small.” A writer of keenly detailed observational prose, he published feuilletons, stories, and short novels in the early years of the 20th century. With limited means of support and suffering from a mental breakdown, he later moved to a sanitarium where he walked the countryside, producing no further writing. A collection of microscopic texts, written on the backs of visiting cards, envelopes, and matchbooks, was found in a shoebox after his death in 1956. Using a “cranky” – a hand-cranked moving scroll – with flat paper puppets and rear-projected video to evoke this solitary and contemplative life.


"We Love Trees"
by John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Marji Gere and Dan Sedgwick
A paper theater play with live music by Gere (violin) and Sedgwick (piano) featuring a magnificent copper beech tree which grew in Somerville, MA, on the same land where the musical Hadley family lived in the early 20th century. It celebrates trees, and what we can learn from them. With texts from Peter Wohlleben, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Jill Jonnes, and music by Henry Kimball Hadley and Stevie Wonder.

Excerpt from "Living Objects in Black," a film written and directed by Jacqueline Wade
A spiritual hybrid documentary film about various Black puppeteers who took part in the historical Living Objects: African American Puppetry exhibit at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UCONN.

Info: 917-319-8104

Great Small Works programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional thanks to: Puppet Slam Network, Scherman Foundation, and the Constance and Jarvis Doctorow Family Foundation.


Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Year-End Spaghetti Dinner

Great Small Works celebrates the end of 2023 with hope (and fire) for 2024. 
Presenting -- 
SOLIDARITY SONGS 
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2024, 7:30 PM
Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South, NYC 
    *Enter at 243 Thompson Street*
and, broadcast live at www.Facebook.com/GreatSmallWorks
 
Excerpt from "Terce: A Practical Breviary" by Heather Christian, a radical rethinking of a 9AM mass, sung by a community choir of caregivers and makers 

Rowan Magee with Takemi Kitamura and Emmanuel Elpenord - "Floor Fry" 

Gregory Corbino and Friends - Excerpts from "Murmurations" 

Boxcutter Collective and Ali Dineen - Excerpt from "The Loneliness of Either, Or A Requiem for Joan of Arc" 

Chinese Theatre Works - Year of the Dragon handpuppets 

Joe Dobkin - New Yiddish

Abaimahani Group - Traditional Garifuna solidarity songs performed acapella by women 

And, bring your dancing shoes! 
DoPoCo (Downtown Polka Collective) with Frank London, Erica Mancini, Michael Winograd, and Friends 

Tickets: $20, no one turned away for lack of funds. All tickets at the door. 
Info: 917-319-8104 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and supported, in part, by public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts. Additional thanks to: Puppet Slam Network, Scherman Foundation, Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Toy Theater Performances in New England

John Bell and Trudi Cohen are teaming up with musicians Marji Gere and Dan Sedgwick to present two weekends of Toy Theater shows. Mayo Street Arts Portland, Maine https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mayostreetarts/898193? Saturday, June 17th, 7:30PM and Sunday, June 18th, 5:00PM: Bonus, Sunday, June 18th, 1-2:30PM. Toy Theater introduction workshop with John Bell and Trudi Cohen Puppet Showplace Theater Brookline, MA https://www.puppetshowplace.org/calendar/2023/06/24/we-love-trees John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Marji Gere, Dan Sedgwick and special guest Gregory Corbino Friday, June 23rd and Saturday, June 24th, 8:00PM: Saturday, June 24th and Sunday June 25th, 1:00PM:

Monday, March 27, 2023

Call for submissions -- Virtual Toy Theater Festival returns



Friends, Colleagues and Everyone Else:


We of Great Small Works are feeling the Toy Theater itch again. We loved our Isolating Together pandemic evenings, the extraordinary gems that were created, and the pleasure we felt as a creative community during frightening times. 

The times have changed, but we're hoping that the creative seeds are continuing to propagate and blossom. 

And so ... we are planning another ONLINE international Toy Theater Festival, to take place on May 27th and 28th. 

We are seeking 1- to 3-minute pieces. Whatever is on your mind these days. 
They can be sent to us as pre-recorded videos, or can be performed live online. 
It's possible that we will have more proposals than we can accommodate. But this is not a juried event, and we are not strict about Toy Theater rules. We do hope that you, as we, are inspired by the form's grand limitations -- flat, in a frame, small-scale, accessible. And that you will stick to the time request.

To see what we did in 2020, the programs are archived here, Virtual Toy Theater Festival Days #1-#6: https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmallWorks/videos 

We expect the majority of pieces to be pre-recorded. But if you are interested in performing live, please let me know. We will want to have a short rehearsal to practice the tech, and we also want to balance the live/taped ratio. 

Time Line --

    As soon as possible: Send message expressing interest to Trudi Cohen, trudico@gmail.com. 

    May 15: Deadline for commitment, with a title and credits for listing. 

    May 22:  Deadline for sending pre-recorded work.

    Week of May 22-26:  Rehearsals for live performers.

Thank you!





Thursday, March 23, 2023

DECOMPRESSION GARDEN SPA(ghetti) RAMADAN

Thursday, April 27, 7:30 PM

La Plaza Cultural Community Garden

9th Street at Avenue C, NYC


For the 6th time, Great Small Works teams up with Fihi Ma Fihi to present a Ramadan-themed Spaghetti Dinner, joining together outdoors in a beautiful community garden to enjoy artistic jewels from the Muslim world.
With spaghetti!

Suggested donation: $20 (no one turned away for lack of funds)
ARABIC
Trio - Farah Bargawi, Mehrnam Rastagari, Eleonore Weill
IRANIAN
Mitra Khorsandi
Yousef Tehran & Friends
WEST AFRiCAN
Salieu Suso and Jalikunda Ensemble
AMERICAS
Legendary Cyphers
Public Housing NYC
Sounds of the Unseen
Great Small Works: "Three Books in the Garden," a puppet-and-music spectacle with live music by Sofie Salonika (Katie Down, Jessica Lurie and special guest Basya Schechter)



CORONAVIRUS RISK REDUCTION: Please stay home if you are not feeling well - we will miss you and see you another time soon! Please put on your mask if you are going over to talk to somebody who is masked; we will have masks on site. There will be many seating options for dining, and social distancing will be possible.
Great Small Works programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional thanks to: Puppet Slam Network, Scherman Foundation, Doctorow Foundation, and Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

Naming the Lost Memorial Project Continues

Great Small Works has been involved as a creative partner for Naming the Lost Memorial Project since 2020, together with Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders and Green-Wood Cemetery, sponsored by City Lore. NTLM is a small team of artists, activists and folklorists which has been curating memorial sites in New York City to name and remember victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorials consist of tens of thousands of nameplates with personalized drawings and photos, created by the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones to the virus.

In March, the team conducted workshops across the 5 boroughs of the City for partner organizations. Over 25 groups got trained and supported in the creation of memorials. The work is a deep, multi-lingual processing of what happened during the lockdown period, as well as a call to express how pandemic losses (of many kinds) are affecting us now. Lead artists were introduced to visual ideas and methods (for working with the outdoor elements) and sent home with bags of materials to share and shape with their communities. 

Workshop Dates: 
- City Lore on the Lower East Side: Tuesday, March 14 
- Queens Public Library (Jamaica branch): Thursday, March 16 
- Brooklyn Central Library: Friday, March 17 
- Staten Island: location tbc, Saturday, March 18 
- Bronx Music Heritage Center: Sunday, March 19 
- Virtual workshop: Monday, March 27 on Zoom

 

City Lore's poetry-mobile, used for workshop transport

 





 

ADAR ADORNMENT: A Transformative Purim Costume-Making Party

The month of Adar mandates us to sweeten the dreary depths of winter by dressing up for Purim!

Please join Jews for Racial & Economic Justice for group costume making and masquerade crafting at Adar Adornment: A Transformative Purim Costume-Making Party! There will be free materials and crafting help! Costume Couture Consultations and Disorientation with Jenny Romaine and other stars, dancing, snacks, cocktails, hilarity, and community!


When: March 4th, 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Where: Building Stories (25 12th St, Brooklyn) and ONLINE!

How to get there: Take the F/G to Smith & 9th St. (or zoom in!)

A collage image featuring a photo of a woman dressed up as a myrtle tree, wearing a giant green clock, and speaking into a megaphone. Text around the photo  reads: Adar Adornment! A Transformative Purim Costume-Making Party! Text at the top-lefthand corner reads ''limited staggered entry.'' Text at the bottom reads ''March 4th, 4-11pm. Building Stories Studio. 6-8pm on Zoom.''


 


We will provide you with a bonanza of materials to 
implement your costume vision, or you can bring 
your own!

Shake your booty to our groovy tunes while you work. We'll 
prep our costumes, and shine out in our Purim excess to 
exalt each other with style -- and to offer the world a 
raucous invitation to laugh at power!

Kids and families are welcome! Alcohol will come 
out right after we mark Havdalah at 6:31 PM on 
the dot. Partake in our specially crafted Purim cocktail, 
or BYOB. Snacks will be provided (in a suave outdoor spot) 
and feel free to bring your own!

Please note: Covid is not over, despite what certain politicians 
have tried to tell us. Here are the specific precautions 
we are taking around Covid for the party:

  • Everyone attending the physical gathering must be up-to-date on Covid vaccination and boosters AND take a rapid test the day of the event.
  • Guests will remain masked at all times (drinks with straws under masks), and snacks can be eaten outside.
  • Two Corsi-Rosenthal box air filters will be running at all times.
  • We are limiting the number of people physically gathering on-site to 30 at a time, and we will be staggering entry times throughout the seven-hour event.
  • There will be an online option to zoom into the party and join the festivities from wherever you are!

The main goal of this Purim Costume-Making Party is to 

HAVE FUN; to get flirty, show off your Purim lewk, 

hang with your friends, and dance! Our creative power 

and joy are at the center of our organizing for justice 

and liberation. 

 

Let’s shake it up!

Jenny Romaine (she/her)

JFREJ member, director, designer, and puppeteer