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Cap Region Creatives: Marilyn McCabe

May 19, 2020 By wordpress

Marilyn is a published poet, living in Saratoga Springs. Her main creative outlet is poetry, sometimes making videos that blend her words with images and sound. She offers writing workshops in conjunction with the Hyde Collection and writes book reviews for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

In this interview, Marilyn offers insight on what it means to be “an individual and largely unknown poet” during these unique times.

How did poetry become your main creative medium?

I have tried just about everything else — fiction, essay, plays — but it’s poetry that stuck. As an editor, it’s part of my make-up to get to the point and be concise. I love rhythm and silence, both of which are essential to the craft. Poetry suits me.

Marilyn, you’ve recently published an Award-Winning Chapbook, Being Many Seeds. Congratulations! What has that experience been like?

Ordinarily I’d throw it a little book party, do some readings and open mics. But I’m reliant now on the virtual networking. I’ve got an extensive email list of friends and acquaintances, as well as Facebook posts both to my own page and group pages such as NY Writers’ Compendium, and I also have a blog.

I created a video project using poems in the collection, so I can use this as a book trailer. I may also record myself reading a few of the poems. People enjoy poets reading their work aloud; it offers insight that words on the page may not. I enjoy readings, but I don’t enjoy the schlepping around. I often spend more in gas than I can recoup in books sales, so I confess I don’t wildly miss the reading shuffle. But I do miss the interaction with listeners and other poetry fans.

Do you feel like your creativity has been flourishing or diminished by being in isolation due to the quarantine?

My life has not changed all that much under quarantine. I do miss seeing my friends, casually stopping somewhere to meet up, and particularly I miss the library — but my creative work continues in its usual fits and starts. My “practice” is haphazard anyway, and I’m fairly distractible at the best of times.

How have you seen the creative community band together during this time?

It’s amazing to see how arts organizations are sharing information and creating new platforms. Virtual readings, gallery tours, fundraising for artist relief funds, virtual concerts — the outpouring has been tremendous. I think people around the world are grateful, and are perhaps newly aware of how art feeds us.

I enjoy ACE’s profiles. The Hyde Collection has invited local artists to post work. Jacob’s Pillow has brought dance to my computer screen, and innumerable other ways in which the arts have gone viral… If anything, the proliferation of arts online has made it a bit more difficult for a largely unknown poet like me to get “heard.”

Several Facebook groups of women writers, such as Binders Full of Women and Non-binary Poets, help me find publishing opportunities and discover new writers. The members have been great cheerleaders for each other, which is so encouraging. New York Foundation for the Arts has tons of resources on its webpage about funding and opportunities. The Adirondack Center for Writing has been great in engaging the already isolated community of writers across the Adirondack region. The Creative Writers Opportunities blog is regularly updated with calls for work from literary magazines, etc.

Are you thinking about ways that you’ll change the way you create/do business in the future due to this experience?

I’ll reach out more globally both in terms of promoting my own work and engaging with the work of others. The online world is small, and it’s rich to reach across geographic, cultural, and national boundaries. Ironically, social distancing has spurred me to bring the world closer.

Any last words of positivity for our readers?

The best of art and science has come out of active use of our imaginations, out of joyous play. Let’s use some of this wonderful quiet to dance around with wild abandon, figuratively and literally.

Marilyn is the winner of the Grayson Books Poetry Chapbook Contest: Being Many Seeds. She has two full-length collections of poems — Glass Factory, and Perpetual Motion — and another chapbook, Rugged Means of Grace. Her themes include science, spirit, memory and identity, and how people connect to each other and the earth.

Connect with Marilyn!

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Cap Region Cocktails at Home: Janesha “Jaja” Levons

May 19, 2020 By wordpress

Janesha “Jaja” Levons was born into a military family, and until her early 20’s, they moved every three years, across the U.S. and to Antigua, until finally settling down in Saratoga Springs, where her love for entertaining and creativity began.

After working as a mixologist, model, and other freelance jobs, she moved to Brooklyn, where she walked runways and worked in over 30 venues, rooftops, and restaurants as a bartender. Now, she’s back in the Cap Region, bartending at The Berlin in Troy (currently closed due to COVID-19) and reinventing her modeling career.

Jaja says…

Every bar was a new challenge, every venue had new cocktails and a new culture to explore. No two great bars are ever alike. Maybe that’s why I never stayed in any one bar for too long… Once I conquered the cocktail program and culture (which never took very long), the challenge was over, and so was the allure. I had a Forbes 100 client contract me to bartend at a private mansion, where I created a cocktail list especially geared for him and his guests for two days. I’ve worked in London at a private lounge in a luxury residential building where I not only created a cocktail program, but also arranged private parties and gatherings. I just love to create and bring people together to enjoy life. And yes I’m pretty fond of alcohol too…

Everybody loves a nice sangria and daiquiri, especially as we start heading into warmer weather. I’ve put together these special recipes that you can make from the comfort of your own home.

Sangria by Jaja

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of frozen fruits (I like to use mixed berries)
1 Cup Rum (I recommend Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Extra Large Orange squeezed ( 1/4 – 1/2 cup of its juice)
1 Bottle of White or Red Wine (your preference)

Simple syrup
1/2 Cup boiling water (you can microwave it if you’d like )
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

Steps:
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Add the juice from the orange
6. Pour wine (750ml ) red or white (I use red) over mixture.
7. Place it in the fridge for four hours. Remember the longer it sits the stronger the berry flavor will be….it’s great to have it sit overnight too!
8. Once it’s ready, serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass!

Daiquiri

Ingredients:
1 Cup Rum (Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (same recipe as above)
1 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
2 1/2 Cups of ice
1 lime

Steps;
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Refrigerate the mixture for four hours.
6. Add a dash of club soda and squeeze a large lime wedge into the mixture.
7. Serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass.

Enjoy!

Contact Jaja!
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A Chat With SPAC’s Elizabeth Sobol

May 7, 2020 By upstatecreative

SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol in quarantine

Elizabeth Sobol is the President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She is also a voracious reader, champion of the cultural arts and lover of the natural world. She recently posted an eloquent letter about life during a pandemic and the impact of Beethoven’s music on our world in the year of his 250th birthday. You can read that here.

We just knew she’d have some great insight and advice for us during New York’s Shelter In Place orders. Please enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth Sobol.

ACE’s Rachel Dunn interviews SPAC’s Elizabeth Sobol

Elizabeth Sobol’s Favorites:

Saratoga PLAN – Saratoga PLAN is dedicated to preserving the rural character, natural habitats and scenic beauty of Saratoga County and provides information on County parks and trails. Includes information on Hennig Preserve.
SPAC “Sparked By Beauty” Facebook Page – Saratoga Performing Arts Center has created an online forum for the sharing of poetry, art, music, dance – things of beauty that bring you joy and light under the dark clouds of uncertainty.
Elizabeth’s Reading List:
- Brian Greene’s Until The End of Time – “It’s a huge book in scope – and he is really looking at both the history of the cosmos – as well as the history of human thought and experience. Kind of like “from the Big Bang to Beethoven”. It sounds daunting, but it is so precisely and beautifully written that it is very gripping. “
- Erik Larson’s The Splendid and The Vile – “[This] is basically a history of Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister – and also the first year of WWII and the Blitz. It’s a timely and powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit – and the importance of honest, powerful oratory – in leading people through times of crisis.”
- Irina Ratushinskaya’s Grey Is The Color of Hope – “A memoir about her many years in the gulags of Russia and how she maintained hope and sustenance through the clandestine writing of poetry on matchbooks.”
- Tracy K. Smith’s Life on Mars – “Our immediate past US Poet Laureate and an extraordinary human being. She also has her own poetry podcast called “The Slowdown”. I listen to it at night when I can’t sleep. It is magical.”
Favorite Beethoven recordings:
- “Because I was an aspiring pianist in a distant past, I always gravitate to [Beethoven’s] piano music. Any recording of any of the 32 piano sonatas performed by Richard Goode, Jonathan Biss or Igor Levitt (representing three different generations of pianists).”
- “Jonathan Biss is also a great writer and has a terrific Kindle Single called ‘In Beethoven’s Shadow’.”

Creative Economy Mixer Photo Highlights: Pitney Meadows Community Farm

September 14, 2019 By upstatecreative

Last week, we went to Pitney Meadows Community Farm in Saratoga Springs, where we enjoyed food by Merv’s Meatless of Troy and Kaffee House of Saratoga Springs. We had beverages from Druthers Brewing, enjoyed music from the band Folk Song, and had a great panel discussion Led by Crickett Thomas- O’Dell of Workforce Development Institute, with Justine Denison of Denison Farms, Aliza Pickering of Pitney Meadows Community Farm, and Marge Randles of Argyle Cheese Farmers. Check out the photos below.

Four Questions with the National Museum of Dance

June 26, 2018 By upstatecreative

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]The National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Spa State Park hosts 14,000 visitors annually and houses several exhibition spaces, dance and yoga studios, and a 45-seat theater. The facility crackles with life and history, beginning with a grand entry foyer adorned with dynamic dance photos and lined with the names of Hall of Fame members, the greats in all dance disciplines.

Current exhibits include Gender Neutral, a groundbreaking display of the longstanding history of nontraditional gender roles in dance. It brings visitors from the origins of gender neutrality in dance in the 1700s through current work by troupes such as the all-male comic ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Dancers in Film, a multimedia permanent exhibit celebrating the magic of dance in movies, features Lifetime Achievement Award winners Ann-Margret, John Travolta, and Chita Rivera.

The Hall of Fame, dedicated to benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, welcomes two new members annually. Patrons can read about the accomplishments of dancers from Russians Anna Pavlova and Rudolf Nureyev to Americans like Gregory Hines and Martha Graham.

We visited with Museum Director Laura DiRado and Curatorial Associate Lisa Kolosek ahead of the July 11 ACE Mixer at the Museum to give Alliance members an inside look at how to balance creativity and business restrictions to maximize the visitor experience. Interestingly, neither Laura nor Lisa had a dance background prior to joining the Museum staff: Laura for many years worked as a freelance graphic designer with a focus on interpretive site design for the National Forest Service and other clients before taking on her roles at the Museum, first as Exhibition Coordinator and Designer and most recently as Director; while Lisa is an art historian and writer with a Master’s degree in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies.

Location: 99 South Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY

Employees: 7 in the Museum, 11 Dance Instructors

In business since: 1986

What would you share with Creatives about working at the Dance Museum?

In a small Museum like ours everyone does a little bit of everything and none of us is above any task. It keeps our team strong. You learn so much when you get to do all sorts of things; in a larger work environment you could easily get pigeonholed into specific roles. There is a certain glamour to working at a large Museum, but the experience you gain in a small operation makes you open to everything and gives you a great sense of the bigger picture.

Does reporting to a Board of Directors and being on State property have an impact on the creative process?

It doesn’t with our Board; Michele Riggi is the President and she and the Board absolutely have the Museum’s best interest at heart. They want the Museum to look fabulous and they are very supportive of what we’re doing. We are very fortunate. We definitely run ideas by the Board and ask their advice, but we essentially have complete artistic freedom. As a designer and as a curator that’s a dream.

Our location in the park is sometimes a challenge. The building is quite linear, and often there isn’t a natural path for an exhibition. Also, we are just one of many buildings in a gigantic park system. They have limited staff and there is red tape to cut through for work to be approved for the building since we’re tenants. For instance, we all work off a DSL system with 4.7 mbps for the staff and there is a long State process to getting a new system in place.

Since you had no dance affiliations, how did your background and experience help make you successful at the Museum?

Lisa: I worked freelance for many years, including writing a book for another museum, which helped when researching the material in our archives for our 30th anniversary book last year. I’m also a huge fan of dance. The Museum itself has great relationships in the dance world and we continue to cultivate new affiliations through our Hall of Fame and exhibitions. In our experience, dance companies and individuals have been quite receptive to working with us.

Laura: Working for a wide-format digital printing company gave me great knowledge for my role as designer at the Museum: to figure out which products can be used, how to apply them, and costs gave me unique insight into the exhibition process. I’ve particularly come to learn that many visitors prefer to be greeted with a catalog or pamphlet, (get more info about how to make one here), so they know what exhibits they can expect to see within the building, as well as the many different events that will be coming up in the future. Every bit of knowledge helps.

What can ACE members look forward to seeing at the Mixer on July 11th?

The focus will be on two new exhibitions: Gender Neutral, which explores the history of nontraditional gender roles in dance and Dancers After Dark, which features nude photographs of dancers in locations around the world taken by New York Times best-selling author Jordan Matter. Different spaces within the Museum are often used for dance performance and we are excited that there will also be a live dance component to the event.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]