Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/30/18

Westfield News Group ArtsBet for 5/30/18. TheaterWorks announces new season, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" returns to Hartford Stage. Rylan Morsbach stars in "I Am My Own Wife" at The Majestic, and theatre news for W.Mass and No. CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-227/

Review: Love Never Dies at The Bushnell

Westfield News Group review for "Love Never Dies" at The Bushnell. A lush production of a sequel to "Phantom", but it can't surpass the original. https://thewestfieldnews.com/review-love-never-dies-at-the-bushnell/

Review: "A Lesson from Aloes" at Hartford Stage

Westfield News Group review of Athol Fugard's "A Lesson from Aloes" at Hartford Stage, directed by Darko Tresnjak. https://thewestfieldnews.com/review-a-lesson-from-aloes-at-hartford-stage/

Media Release: KEVIN RHODES RETURNS TO VIENNA STATE OPERA BALLET FOR TWO PROGRAMS IN JUNE

The Massachusetts-based American conductor Kevin Rhodes will return to the Vienna State Opera Ballet for his 23rd season, after conducting the season finales of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Massachuetts, and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan,where he serves as Music Director and Conductor,  and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Boston, where he is Principal Conductor.

On June 8, 9, and 12. Maestro Rhodes conducts The Vienna State Opera Ballet’s program of British choreography, which includesConcerto, with choreography by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Shostakovich; Eayne McGregor’s Eden with music by Steve Reich, and Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand, choreographed for Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn to the music of Lizst. For program details: https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/967926866-macmillan-mcgregor-ashton/

On June 29, Maestro Rhodes conducts the annual Nureyev Gala, which will commemorate what would have been the international ballet dancer and choreographer’s 80th birthday. For details: https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/968030631-nurejew-gala-2018/

Earlier this season, Maestro Rhodes conducted a return engagement of the ballet Raymonda with its Glazunov score, and a program that includes two ballets by New York City ballet legend, George Balanchine: Theme and Variations with music by Tchaikovsky and theStravinsky Violin Concerto. The program also includes John Neumeier’s Bach Suite III, and Jerome Robbins’ comic ballet The Concert, with  music by Chopin. 

In November, Maestro Rhodes returns to Vienna to conduct a new production of Sylvia, choreographed by Manuel Legris, and featuring music by Leo Delibes. For further information on Sylvia: https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/973666816-sylvia/

For Kevin Rhodes’ website: http://kevinrhodesconductor.com/

For Kevin Rhodes biography: http://www.parkerartists.com/Kevin-Rhodes.html

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ArtsBeat Radio 5/25/18

ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB 5/25/18. Host Mark G. Auerbach interviews Daniel Elihu Kramer, Artistic Director of Chester Theatre, and Graham Rowat, star of "Church and State" at Berkshire Theatre Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE8yP8EN6Vo

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/23/18

The Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/23/18. TheaterWorks presents "The Invisible Hand"; Barrington Stage premieres "The Royal Family of Broadway". "Love Never Dies" at The Bushnell, and more arts news or WMass. and No.CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-226/

Media Release from Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative

Dateline: May 23, 2018

Advance Screening of New Feature Documentary, “GRIT,” by Academy Award® Winning Filmmaker Cynthia Wade at Berkshire International Film Festival on June 2

- A staggering eco-disaster that you’ve never heard of. A heroine you’ll never forget -

Oscar Winning filmmaker, and Berkshire resident, Cynthia Wade will present a special advance screening of GRIT, her newest documentary feature chronicling a young girl’s years-long fight against a drilling company in Indonesia. The film, which just had its world premiere in Toronto to rave reviews, will screen at the historic Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington on Saturday, June 2 at 1:30 pm.  Director Cynthia Wade will participate in a conversation after the screening, as part of the 13^th Annual Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) Tea Talk series. The screening is sponsored by the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BMFC).

“Shot with poetic grandeur and packed with stirring political heft” – Hot Docs Film Festival, Toronto

GRIT follows Dian, a young Indonesian girl who lost her home when an enormous tsunami of mud, causing by natural gas drilling, slammed into her village in 2006. Twelve years later, 16 villages lie buried under 60 feet of mud and the mud continues to explode every day. The film chronicles Dian’s awakening as a political activist as she had her community organize against the drilling company. GRIT was created in collaboration with the Sundance Institute.

 “An exquisitely shot film that draws upon the evocative power of manmade landscapes to create an eerie tale of what’s at stake for our planet” – POV Magazine

About the Director: Academy Award-winning director Cynthia Wade has won over 50 awards for her films. Her documentary Freeheld won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2008; Wade was a lead producer on the 2015 fictionalized adaptation starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell and Michael Shannon. In 2013, Wade received her second Oscar nomination for her documentary Mondays at Racine. Her work can be seen at  http://www.cynthiawade.com

About the Sponsor: The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) creates educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry an economic initiative for the western Massachusetts region.  http://www.berkshirefilm.org.

Screening Time: Saturday, June 2 at 1:30 pm at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA. Box Office:  413-528-0100. Tickets $15 for screening and conversation:  http://www.mahaiwe.org/BIFF2018Grit"

News from Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations / June 2018

June, 2018

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,

Please note: Our offices will be closed on Monday, May 28 for Memorial Day, and June 8-11, while I’m travelling for work.

We’re proud to share our clients’ activities.

Kevin Rhodes begins the month with an all-Rachmaninoff program with the Traverse Symphony in MI on June 2. Then, it’s back to Vienna for ballet.  He’ll be conducting two different programs at the Vienna State Opera Ballet, a mixed-bill of ballets by British choreographers, including the classic Marguerite and Armand created for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev; and then the ballet season finale, The Nureyev Gala, one of the most important dance events in Europe. Maestro Rhodes will conduct the Vienna State Opera Ballet’s new production of Sylvia, with music by Delibes, this fall. For details: http://kevinrhodesconductor.com/

Jeanne Yocum, publisher of the award-winning blog Succeeding in Small Business, released her new book, The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, published by Rowman and Littlefield. I’m quoted in the book! Jeanne’s book tour comes to Masachusetts this month at the South Shore Women’s Business Network on June 21 in Hingham, MA and at AmherstWorks in Amherst, MA, and she’ll appear at Blue Umbrella Books in Westfield, MA on June 23. For details: https://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/the-self-employment-survival-guide/

The Capitol Steps perform every Friday and Saturday in the Amphitheater at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC. Metro Stop: Federal Triangle. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. They also perform throughout the year at theatres coast-to-coast. Look for them at Symphony Space on Broadway on June 17;  at Cranwell in the Berkshires this summer. from June 29-August 31. Their new CD, Make America Grin Again, comes out this  month, and they'll have a new Politics Takes a Holiday radio special in July.. For details: http://capsteps.com/

More Shameless Self-Promotion

89.5fm/WSKB’s ArtsBeat Radio airs weekly on Fridays at 8AM. June guests include: Connecticut Repertory Theatre Nutmeg Summer Series Artistic Director Terrence Mann; David M. Lutken, star of Goodspeed’s The Will Rogers Follies; Shawn Farley from the UMass Fine Arts Center; Sevenars Concert’s Rorianne Schrade; Beryl Jolly from the Mahaiwe;  actor director Eric Hill, and WAM Theatre’s Kristen van Ginhoven.  Tune in on 89.5fm/WSKB, on Comcast Ch.15 in Westfield, or streamed via www.wskb.org or www.westfieldtv.org

Pioneer Valley Radio’s Bernadette Duncan interviewed me about book promotion on her show, The Writer’s Group.  http://pioneervalleyradio.com/2018/05/15/mark-auerbach-getting-your-book-out-there/

My ArtsBeat columns and theatre reviews for Westfield News Group, and articles for Succeeding in Small Business are catalogued at Random Notes From a P.R. Guy: http://mgauerbach.blogspot.com/

Here’s to a great summer.

Media Release: ArtsBeat Radio Returns Weekly on 89.5fm/WASKB

Dateline: May 21, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARTSBEAT RADIO RETURNS TO WEEKLY BROADCASTS ON 89.5FM/WSKB ON MAY 25

ArtsBeat Radio, the hour-long arts and entertainment program returns to its weekly Friday time slot from 8AM-9AM on 89.5FM/WSKB beginning May 25. Produced for 89.5FM/WSKB by Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, and hosted by Mark G. Auerbach, ArtsBeat columnist for The Westfield News Group, ArtsBeat Radio, which launched last May, will showcase the diverse performing arts scene in Southern New England.

“We initially came to WSKB as a limited-run summer series last year, but we continued on a monthly basis after the summer," said Auerbach. "We're back on a weekly schedule year-round, and we'll continue to bring some of our region’s finest talents into the WSKB studios to talk about the state of their arts, and what it’s like to create music, dance, and theatre here in Western New England.”

Some of ArtsBeat Radio's upcoming guests include: Daniel Elihu Kramer, Artistic Director of Chester Theatre Company; Shawn Farley from the UMass Fine Arts Center; Rorianne Schrade from Sevenars Concerts; David M. Lutken, star of The Will Rogers Follies at Goodspeed, and actor/director Eric Hill. ArtsBeat Radio will also produce two summer specials, one from the stage of the Fitzpatrick Theatre with members of The Berkshire Theatre Group's 90th Anniversary Season, and one from Cranwell Resort in Lenox with members of the political satire group The Capitol Steps

Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at Northfield Mount Hermon School, American University and The Yale School of Drama. After working at Wolf Trap outside Washington, DC; Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, The Springfield Symphony, Greater Miami Opera, and StageWest, he opened a public relations consultancy. As an arts reporter, he has written extensively for newspapers, magazines, and radio. 

89/5FM/WSKB, Radio For The Western Masses, is licensed to serve Westfield State University and the Greater Westfield, MA area. WSKB runs Community Radio programming daily from 6AM-10AM. Arts Beat Radio and other WSKB programming  can be heard at 89.5FM, on Comcast Channel 15 in Westfield, and streamed by www.wskb.org or at www.westfieldtv.org. Previously-aired programs are archived on YouTube.

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Thanks, Westfield News Group for running the story. https://thewestfieldnews.com/artsbeat-radio-returns-to-89-5fm-wskb/

ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB 5/16/18

ArtsBeat Radio on 5/16/18 on 89.5fm/WSKB. Mark G. Auerbach interviews Peri Sossaman from North Hall Arts Festival, Maestro Kevin Rhodes from the Springfield Symphony, and actor/musician James Barry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVL1JFTlolc&feature=youtu.be

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/16/18

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/16/18. "A Lesson from Aloes" directed by Darko Tresnjak at Hartford Stage; "Disaster" opens Nutmeg Summer Series at CT. Rep,  Springfield Symphony's All-Rachmaninoff Season Finale and more. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-224/

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat Extra: Springfield Symphony 75th Season

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat Extra 5/16/18. Maestro Kevin Rhodes announces the Springfield Symphony Orchestra's 75th Season. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-extra-springfield-symphony-orchestra-announces-75th-season/

Mark G. Auerbach interviewed on Pioneer Valley Radio

Thanks to Bernadette Duncan at Pioneer Valley Radio for offering me the opportunity to talk about Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations. http://pioneervalleyradio.com/2018/05/15/radio-show-155-mark-auerbach-getting-your-book-out-there/

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat Extra: Funding WMass Arts

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat Extra: Funding WMass Creative Economy with federal and state funds to infuse greater giving. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-extra-fueling-the-wmass-creative-economy/

Media Release: Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Summer Film Workshops

BFMC AND BCC TO OFFER

SUMMER FILMMAKING WORKSHOP FOR KIDS 10-14 YEARS OLD

Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC), in association with Berkshire Community College (BCC), is offering a summer filmmaking intensive for 10-14 year olds from Monday, June 25^th – Friday, June 30^th. This week long workshop will meet daily from 10:00am – 4:00pm and take place at BCC’s South County Campus, 343 Main Street, Great Barrington. Early drop off (9am) and late pick-up (5pm) is available by request.

The purpose of the workshop is twofold: 1) For kids to experience what it’s like to work on a real movie crew from creation of an idea to the final edit of the project, and 2) for the group to produce a high quality short film championed in every aspect by everyone in the group. The kids will work collaboratively - performing as actors on camera, running the lights, the camera and the sound, as well as editing and marketing the film’s premiere to the community. On the final night, parents, friends, and the public will be invited to attend and the young filmmakers will participate in a Q&A with the audience. Each participant will walk away with a copy of the film and the experience of creating a professional quality film together.

Specific topics covered will include: story structure, screenwriting, character development, cinematography, sound recording/mixing, lighting, editing, sound design and marketing.

Diane Pearlman, Executive Director of BFMC comments “We are thrilled to be offering this filmmaking workshop for the young people in our community. Video is becoming more and more important as a tool for communication. We need to teach our kids the importance of working cooperatively on a project, while giving them the tools necessary to tell a compelling story.”

The course is being taught by writer/director/actor/educator, Patrick Toole. For the past two years, Patrick has taught filmmaking and animation at The Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY. He also co-created the After School Film Project with the Chatham Film Club, and numerous other after school film and theater programs for middle and high school students in both Columbia and Berkshire Counties. Patrick has written/directed/edited over 30 short films and founded and curated several local film festivals, including Berkshire Shorts Film Festival. He is the founder of the Whitdiots Improve Troupe and Emergent Ensemble Theater Company. Patrick studied film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

All equipment will be provided. Cost for the week-long workshop is $325. Students will need to bring lunch.

To register on-line go to http://shop.berkshirecc.edu, under “Kid Academy” or call 413.236.2127.

Class size is limited, so register today!

Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative creates educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry as an economic initiative for the western Massachusetts region. BFMC is a 501(c)3 non-profit

organization.  For more information: www.berkshirefilm.org 413.528.4223.

May Succeeding in Small Business Profile / Peter Thomsen

My Succeeding in Small Business profile of Peter Thomsen, a vocal coach who has worked with The Voice's Brynn Cartelli. https://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/small-business-success-41-peter-thomsen-thomsen-music/#.WvXggiMrJaU

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat for 5/9/18

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat for 5/9/18. Patti Cohenour headlines "You Are Here" at Goodspeed; new seasons at Sevenars and North Hall. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-225/

Media Release: Berkshire Film and Media Collaborate Networking Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 2, 2018

Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Hosts

Spring Networking Event for Film, Media and Gaming Professionals

in Greenfield on Tuesday, May 8th

The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) is hosting a spring networking event for professionals in the film, media and gaming industries on Tuesday, May 8^th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Wheelhouse in Greenfield (downstairs at the Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main Street). Held quarterly throughout the region, these industry get-togethers allow local artists and technicians to meet each other and learn about business opportunities in western Massachusetts.

Tours of the upstairs Greenspace CoWork space will also take place during the event.

Admission is free although contributions are welcome at the door. There will be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Please RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bfmc-spring-networking-event-tickets-45538945211

“BFMC is dedicated to creating jobs and growing the film, media and gaming industries in western MA,” says Diane Pearlman, Executive Director of BFMC. “It’s exciting to see people meet other creatives from down the street or the next town. New business relationships are always sparked.”

The event is generously sponsored by Limelight Productions and the Economic Development Council of Western MA.

The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative creates educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry as an economic initiative for western Massachusetts. BFMC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information go to: www.berkshirefilm.org or call 413.528.4223.

Calendar Listings: Jeanne Yocum's WMass Book Tour

Dateline: May 3, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALENDAR LISTINGS

BOOK TOUR

Jeanne Yocum, author of The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss

Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 5:30PM

Presentation: The Thrills (and Chills) of Self-Employment:

Q&A, Booksigning

AmherstWorks

11 Amity Street

Amherst, MA 01002

413-461-0665

https://amherstworks.io/

Free Admission

Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 1PM

Reading, Q&A, Booksigning

Blue Umbrella Books

2 Main Street

Westfield, MA 01085

413-579-5383

http://www.blueumbrellabooks.com/

Free Admission

About The Book

The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss alerts you to the challenges involved in being your own boss and provides proven strategies for surmounting these obstacles to achieve success. You’ll also learn what you need to put in place before taking the leap to being your own boss to help assure your success. 

Self-employment offers great personal freedoms and rewards, but the road can curve or travel uphill at times. In this book, you’ll find proven solutions for obstacles that inevitably will cross your path, including unreasonable client demands, slow payers, unexpected client defections, hectic daily schedules, health and financial planning, and isolation that can accompany working on your own

Paperback: 216 pages

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (April 8, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1538108712

ISBN-13: 978-1538108710

For book details: https://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/the-self-employment-survival-guide/

About Author Jeanne Yocum

For nearly 30 years, Jeanne Yocum has been self-employed as a public relations consultant and ghostwriter. Jeanne has worked with clients in a wide variety of fields, including commercial and residential real estate, dot-coms, retailing, higher education, health care, financial and legal services, manufacturing, IT analysis, management consulting, architecture, and banking. Her award-winning  blog,Succeeding in Small Business, offers advice to small business owners and solopreneurs. 

Jeanne’s published works include The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, and two co-authored books, New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies, published in 2004, and Ban the Humorous Bazooka [and Avoid Other Roadblocks and Speed Bumps Along the Innovation Highway], published in 2001. She also has ghostwritten books on open innovation, strategic partnerships, and leading fast-growth companies.

A Pennsylvania native, Jeanne holds a B.A. in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Boston University. After spending most of her career in Greater Boston and in Western Massachusetts, she now lives in Durham, NC.

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Westfield News Group Review: The Will Rogers Follies at Goodspeed

Westfield News Group Review of "The Will Rogers Follies" at Goodspeed. A star turn by David M. Lutken, dazzling choreography by Kelli Barclay, and Ilona Somogyi's sumptuous costumes make this award-winning musical a welcome start to Goodspeed's season and the late arrival of Spring. https://thewestfieldnews.com/review-goodspeed-stages-the-will-rogers-follies/

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/2/18

Westfield News Group ArtsBeat 5/2/18: Shakespeare and Company announces casting; Longmeadow Chamber Music Society concert, WAM Theatre's Fresh Takes Series, and other arts news for WMass and N.CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-223/