Very Superstitious January 9, 2016

May 2, 2016 By Martha Frankel

Very Superstitious…
at the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts
doors open 7:30pm
show 8:00pm

Storytellers

Nicole Quinn
Shannon Flynn
Quentin Rauschenbusch
Dakota Lane

Ava Ratcliff
Danielle Bonesteel
Suzan Fiona Saxman
Bobby Tisdale

with stories by
Martha Frankel + Kris Garnier

Judges

Jane Traum
Richard Husted
Chris Wells

StorySlams.Com + Woodstock Writers Festival has a new App!

We’re taking it for a spin on January 9th. For the first time ever, our audience will have an opportunity to vote too. But to vote, you’ve gotta get the App!
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can still do it in time to vote!

To get the Yapp App, follow these simple steps:

Download Yapp at the App Store for iPhones/iPads or Google Play for Android.
Next, use this link to get the Woodstock Writers Festival Yapp: http://my.yapp.us/WDSTKWRITES.

Come cheer on Ava Ratcliff, Quentin Rauschenbusch, Suzan Saxman, Bobby Tisdale, Danielle Bonesteel, Shannon Flynn, Dakota Lane, and Nicole Quinn and then vote for your favorite storyteller. You have to get the App to play!

I Believe In The Power Of…

May 10, 2015 By Martha Frankel

THE STORYTELLERS

I Believe In The Power Of…

May 9, 2015 – Bearsville Theater

Winners:

1st Place: Barbara Mansfield
2nd Place: Deb Weir

I believe in the power of

Martha Frankel believes in the power of humor. That is her church and her god. She hopes to die laughing.

Headshot of Martha Frankel by Franco Vogt

Kris Garnier believes in the power of crossing her fingers, making wishes and feeling completely hopeful about the possibilities of each new day!

Headshot of Kris Garnier by Ilene Cutler

rachel-bailey Rachel Bailey is a transplant from NYC who’s lived in the Hudson Valley for nine, occasionally long years. Since moving up here, she’s worked in retail and customer service, till it drove her crazy. Now, perpetuating that crazy, she’s a full-time writer. She’s been published in Words 57; The Finger; The Stonesthrow Review; the 2014 Writing.com Anthology; Yahoo!Voices; Amative Magazine, and she’s had two short plays—The Big Opening and Messenger – performed for stage and screen, respectively.

seth-branitz Seth Davis Branitz no longer drops out, cheats on, bakes bagels or self-abuses. He now divides his time between raising sons, feeding people and reiterating odd experiences thru short stories and song (as Seth Davis, he releases his fourth record in 2015). Raised in a Queens housing project he now does the best he can in the Hudson Valley.

Kevin Buso is a Hudson Valley native. He is a photographer, a lover, a fighter, a painter, a sandwich enthusiast, a mediocre drummer, and an area rug. He loves sandwiches. When he went to Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone, he kissed the wrong rock. According to him, this one time, he was almost Pope. He is available for parties. He just wants everyone to be happy and to check out his website at KevinBuso.com.

melissa-eppard Melissa Eppard wanted to grow up to be a fire fighter, a chef or a forest ranger. Her love of unicorns led her to pursue Graphic and Fine Arts. After years spent working in holistic education & alternative healthcare, Melissa found herself diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36. She wrote about her experiences all through that harrowing year, and continues do so at melissashealinghope.com. Melissa lives with her musician husband and 4 year old son in Woodstock and enjoys composing poetry while driving. She is currently pursuing her goal to become a Life Coach.

Freya Fox grew up in the jungles of Papua New Guinea & on the beaches of Fiji. She moved to Australia in her teens & once finished with school continued to travel the world in search of inspiration & experience. If stranded on an island she would not be able to live without a copy of Siddartha, a machete for opening coconuts & hemp lip balm. She enjoys long walks amongst these most excellent trees & eating, in general.

Lissa Harris is the founder and publisher of the Watershed Post. She lives in the Catskill mountains with her wife, daughter, and two pretentiously named cats. When not busy trying to figure out how to keep local news alive, she can often be found swordfighting, singing morbid shape note hymns, and becoming overly attached to fictional robots.

Barbara Mansfield is writing a middle grade mystery/recipe book with photos by husband Phil Mansfield, a lifestyle photographer (Bloomsbury, Wiley). She once ran a mom and pop café, and has recently been testing recipes for cookbooks. Barbara just completed Grumpy Fish Aid: Comfort Tips from Kids With Cancer, a self-help book distributed through top oncology centers in four states.

matthew-rudikoff Matthew Rudikoff believes “Arbeit macht frei” (Work Makes You Free). Since childhood Matt’s work has included: selling sinkers to fishermen on Far Rockaway’s beach, soda-jerk at Moe’s Candy Store, Charley’s Grocery’s delivery boy, LI Press delivery boy, Woodmere Club golf caddie, Silver Point Beach Club cabana boy, college sports equipment manager, cafeteria pot scrubber/floor mopper, par excellence, planning intern in riot torn Newark, NJ, NYC urban planner, environmental consultant, grants writer, real estate developer and most recently, editr.

Deb Weir has worked as a mortgage broker, executive secretary, trainer for the military, and addictions therapist. She also owned and operated Flirty Girl Cupcakes, all of which means she’s either versatile or has attention deficit. She is presently working on her writing. She lives in Boiceville, New York with her Jack Russell Terrier and her extremely tolerant husband, Peter.

storyslams-singers
Photo credit: Jeff Notti

Pete Levin, Keyboardist Extraordinaire

Gongs by Hari Prakaash & Theresa Widmann of Shuniya

sari-botton Sari Botton believes in the power of sharing TMI. Which makes sense, considering her position as Editorial Director of TMI Project, a non-profit that offers true storytelling workshops. She’s a writer with columns on The Rumpus and Longreads, whose work has appeared in the NY Times and elsewhere. She edited the award-winning anthology Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving & Leaving NY, and the NY Times Bestselling anthology Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love For NY.

marko-tomassetti Marko Tomassetti is a lot of things, some of them nice, and others are not so much. He believes he is special not only because his mother told him so, but because he is a unicorn disguised as a man. His hobbies include, but are not limited to, judging people. You could also find him burning hair in NYC. Marko resides in Woodstock, with his husband Brandon and their adorable son, Kameron.

Franco Vogt: After graduating top of my class at The Astronaut and Big Rig Training night school, I decided that being a “rocketman”, as we called ourselves, was just not thrilling enough. So I interned on the Rodeo Clown circuit, which still wasn’t really me, although it has left me tragically with one operational testicle. But no worries, it’s a good one. Oh right, and my Dad gave me a camera and I have been taking pictures ever since……I know, it sounds so cliché. But it’s not.

Weathering the Storm

November 14, 2014 By Martha Frankel

THE STORYTELLERS

Weathering the Storm

There are all kinds of storms happening, within and around each of us every day and yet somehow…
we get through them.

Even the most turbulent times churn out results that we couldn’t have ever imagined.

How do people make it through these shaky situations?

Are they feeling like a champ, or completely defeated?

Cool as a cucumber, a hero, hiding in a closet or under a table, or maybe even completely unaware?

Batten down the hatches because our next StorySlams is all about Weathering the Storm.

And like the best things in life, storyslams.com is a contest!

The winner will receive a Woodstock Writers Festival bag, chock-a-block with all kinds of groovy things: books, food, chocolate, gift certificates, and who knows what else!

Wine, cookies, water and good vibes will be served, on the house.

Join us on Wednesday, November 12th at Nevessa, 7:30PM.

Martha Frankel has weathered many storms, some of her own making. She wouldn’t trade any of them in for a day at the beach, although for a month she’d sell her soul.

Headshot of Martha Frankel by Franco Vogt

Kris Garnier believes that sunny days are way over rated.

Headshot of Kris Garnier by Ilene Cutler

Bev Donofrio is an ex-teen mom, a serial memoirist, a children’s book author even though mostly she can’t stand kids, the new owner of a dog she tries not to kick, and the member of a rosary group, trying her damnedest to be loving, kind and patient. So far, it’s not working.

Kathleen McKitty Harris is a writer, native New Yorker, wife and mother living in northern New Jersey with her husband, two children and neurotic Dalmatian. She has been writing since the age of six, when she penned — actually, crayoned — a story about a hunter named Mr. Strunsenfeusel, and a talking squirrel.

Will Lytle has had the fortune to be well-travelled, though his means of getting around often result in the weathering of some nasty shitstorms.

Betty MacDonald, writer, sculptor, improv actor and non violin-nist, is the mother of two and grandmother of eleven. Currently she is writing a memoir, All My Monsters Are Dead or What’s Good About Old Age.

Doug Motel is a storyteller, author, husband (married to singer Carrie Wykoff) and dad to a precocious 8 year old. After running away from home and moving to Manhattan as a teen, he showcased his unique brand of character comedy in all of the known stand-up clubs and funky downtown performance spaces of the 1980’s. Moving to Los Angeles in the hopes of selling out, Doug did a series of un-noteworthy roles on network television and in indie film but managed to score awards and great press for several of his one-person plays which include MIND SALAD, SHIVA ARMS, PRAESTIGIUM and STARDUST. Doug now resides in Rosendale where he intends to be buried.

Evie Preston has been involved in the performing arts since her early 20’s. After studying mime, dance, choreography and piano she switched gears and has been a practicing psychotherapist for the past 26 years. During this time, she has turned to memoir writing, poetry and storytelling as her artistic form of expression. Evie lives in Woodstock, has a 20 year old daughter and is happily divorced.

Ilyse Simon may be found baking gluten free cilantro cookies in her kitchen, filming “Frozen” parodies with her six year old, or reading distracting legal thrillers. After living as a renegade peace activist she signed the adult contract, got married, and has a full time job as a mom and dietitian. She lives and works in Kingston.

Amy Summers loves to play with words, she is a performer, artist, and Mermaid Queen. She is the Instructor/Founder of Aquoga (Ah/Quo/Ga) Aquatic classes for Body & Mind. Excerpts from Amy’s memoir in progress can be found on her blog The Daily Muse by Amy Summers.

Jane Traum was born in the shadow of The Yankee Stadium but has been a full time resident of Woodstock since 1967 where she and her husband raised 3 kids. She is the co founder of Homespun Music Instruction and is passionate about gardening and table tennis.

Gordon Wemp grew up in the 60s, trying to remember the 70s, won’t talk about the 80s and had children in the 90s. As the son of an artist he’s been a carpenter, an illustrator, a singer/songwriter, a script writer (anyone want to hear my pitches?), a poet, and a politician. Creating is the key. When all else fails? Turn on the game.

Musical interludes arranged and performed by
Kris Garnier, Chris Anderson, Desiree O’Clair & Babs Mansfield

Ida Hakkila is a singer, comedy writer and DJ. Host of The Heavy Light Show at Radio Woodstock, she’s been a DJ in New York City at 92-3 K-Rock and Q104.3; she’s written jokes for The Late Show with David Letterman, and performed at several “Stories at the Moth.” Sometimes she sings in public. Her favorite way of weathering the storm is to fill Ziplock bags with water and put them in the freezer, so that her probiotics won’t go bad when the power goes out.

Lifestyle photographer Phil Mansfield has survived the devastating loss of his son, untimely death of his mother and a midnight squall during a Regatta in the English Channel. “Music, comedy, good company and a fresh can of Spaghettios with Franks get me through every time.”

Web designer Nan Tepper has weathered many storms….She was yanked from the cultural smorgasbord of Manhattan at 7 and forced to grow up in the strip mall that is Long Island. As soon as she could, she raced back to Manhattan just in time for the beginning of the AIDS crisis, and after losing too many friends to count, took a chance and moved up to the Hudson Valley. Now the only storms she needs to deal with are the ones that come with winter.

Winners:

1st Place: Will Lytle: A Small Triumph
2nd Place: Ilyse Simon: My Mother, the Class 3 Hurricane
3rd Place: Amy Summers: Listen to the Whisper

Facebook

Twitter

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! 9-10-2014

September 10, 2014 By Martha Frankel

Food, Glorious Food!

Your best food memory? Worst? Latest food craze? What do you eat? What would you NEVER eat?
Diets that work or don’t? Drastic measures, miraculous outcomes…?
Our relationship with food is so complicated!

Our storytellers will: Make us salivate. Convince us to give just one thing up for Lent. Use the word “bacon” more than once. That we guarantee.

And like the best things in life, storyslams.com is a contest!

The winner will receive a Woodstock Writers Festival bag, chock-a-block with all kinds of groovy things:
books, food, chocolate, gift certificates, and who knows what else!

Wine, cookies, water and good vibes will be served, on the house.

Join us on Wednesday, September 10th at Nevessa, 7:30PM.

Martha Frankel used to aspire to be one of those women who said, at 6PM, “Oh my god, I forgot to eat anything all day!” Now she aspires to slap them.

Headshot of Martha Frankel by Franco Vogt

Kris Garnier had a crush on Tony the Tiger.
She was attracted by his enthusiasm,
although she preferred the taste of Rice Krispies
and was sure that eating Lucky Charms would give her magical powers.

Headshot of Kris Garnier by Ilene Cutler

Susan Barnett has a fine collection of unpublished works, including novels and short stories, as well as one collection of short stories, “The View From Outside,” published by Hen House Press. She grew up in Woodstock and came back to stay after – of course – she met a man. She’s currently writing a novel inspired by her home town and a non-fiction book inspired by the tree that nearly impaled her.

Sarah Bowen has been writing technical and marketing copy for over 20 years. She readily admits having sold out to The Man in order to finance her extensive travel addiction. Her first book, based on her experiences as an irreverent preacher’s kid, is slated for publication in April 2015.

Julie Evans is a columnist; essayist, inspirational writer, teacher and host of the television program Just Say So. She has just completed her memoir entitled Joy Road. At Empire State College she offers studies ranging from Native American Narratives to Therapeutic Writing. With degrees in Holistic Health, Pastoral Counseling, Mentoring Theory and Narrative Therapy, Julie believes that words are our best medicine and strives to find the cures that only writing can reveal.

Bart Everly is a former photographer, now a filmmaker, currently working on a project entitled ‘Velvet Vision’. The film is fiscally sponsored by NYFA and has been awarded grants from NYSCA, the Peter Reed Foundation and the Jerome Foundation. He is also writing a memoir about his life as a photographer in New York, London and Los Angeles.

Steven Lewis: Married 46 years (7 kids, 16 grandkids–and counting), I am a longtime freelance writer and a member of the Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute faculty. My work has been published widely, from the notable to the beyond obscure (see www.stevelewiswriter.com). During much of the Sixties I was writing self-indulgent poetry in Madison, Wisconsin—primarily to meet girls—but along the way I met the poet James Hazard who gave me a flashlight to navigate my way through the self-reflective shadows and into what I now understand is the illuminating voice. I carry it daily up to my writing space in the Shawangunk Mountains and into workshops up and down the Hudson River and across the windy beaches of Hatteras Island, NC.

Desirée O’Clair: The daughter of a chef from Hog Eye, North Carolina and a Puerto Rican girl from Brooklyn, Desirée O’Clair was so ugly as a baby, they tied a pork chop around her neck to get the dog to play with her, and she got so fat that now she’s on both sides of the family. Raised on rice and beans, country ham biscuits, and collard greens, her blood type is KFC and when she cries, her tears are Red Eye Gravy. She moved to New York thinking the Subway system meant you got a sandwich at every stop, and she longs for the days when fast meant promiscuous.

Eden O’Clair: Angsty teenage mer-person blogger who loves sweaters, robots, and playing the ukulele.

Farrell Reynolds: Born and raised in the Inwood neighborhood of NYC, spent thirty years working on the business side of the television industry. He has also worked as a longshoreman, served four years as a U.S. Naval Officer in Viet Nam and the Philippines, is active in Ulster county community theatre, is a Hospice volunteer and thoroughly enjoys living in Woodstock with his wife Margaret Mary and, living close by, his daughter Megan.

Robert Burke Warren is a writer, performer, and teacher. He’s traveled the world as a rock and roll bass player, written songs with Rosanne Cash, and performed the lead in the London production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, but these days he mostly chops wood, meets deadlines, and gives guitar lessons on his porch. His sex, drugs, kids, and rock and roll novel Feedback will be available soon.

Headshot of Robert Burke Warren by Franco Vogt

Robert B. Wyatt has been editor-in-chief of several New York City publishing houses over the years and is now president of A Wyatt Book, Inc.

He is author of JAM & THE BOX and a companion novella, THE FLUFFYS & THE BOX.

An autobiographical fantasy, ADVENTURES OF A HOUSE AND ITS BOOKS is in the works and will soon be issued in a variety of formats with an accompanying blog.

Abbe Aronson is the founder and head of Abbe Does It, a PR/publicity, marketing and event planning company based here in Woodstock. Prior to moving to the Hudson Valley in 2006, she worked as interiors and trend editor/writer for a coterie of magazines. And while she’s always been a champion eater and foodie, it was the relocation to Woodstock that ignited the cook in her. Today, when she’s not cooking up something for clients, she’s forever in the kitchen.

Kevin Christofora has been knee deep in food since he can remember. He would rather be playing/teaching/watching baseball, but hey, what can you do? His family’s business, Woodstock Meats, is where Woodstock meets!

Aaron Rezny has been a well-known food photographer in NYC for over 20 years. His work has been featured in major marketing campaigns for Nestle, Duncan Hines, Kellogg’s, Russell Stover, Nabisco, and Applebee’s among other brands. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Bon Appetite, Food & Wine, and The Wall Street Journal.

His book Eating Delancey: A Celebration of Jewish Food will be published by powerHouse Books in Dec 2014.

Facebook

Twitter