All About Love Opens February 11th at the Paradise Factory Theater

ALL ABOUT LOVE, a new play written and directed by Donysha Smith will make it’s World Premiere with a limited engagement from February 11^{th –} February 21^st at the Paradise Factory Theater, 64 East 4^th Street (between Bowery and Second Avenue).

Inspired by the music of Stevie Wonder, ALL ABOUT LOVE offers a “fresh look at love” in an energetic, interactive, modern multi-media experience that combines live theater, film, music, dance and more into a single narrative piece about love in all of its fabulously unpredictable forms.

ALL ABOUT LOVE consists of three unique storylines seamlessly woven together through a unique and contemporary use of multi-media. Love’s many forms are examined through these compelling scenes that touch real life emotions and are interspersed with vignettes that express unconventional viewpoints on relationships:

Three Point Stance at the Edge of the World

Soldiers from different eras find music and more in mayhem.

Carmelita 1:13

A young couple deals with a break up and a break down. It’s tough being in a love triangle with God.

Lost & Found

An aging gay couple comes to grips with disco and the truth in the dairy aisle of the Food Emporium.

ALL ABOUT LOVE’s cast includes Jeff Kozel, Warren Katz, Aubyn Peterson, Bianca Lemaire, Erickson Dautruche, Wesley Volcy, Zdenko Slobodnik and is stage managed by Jaimie Van Dyke.

Donysha Smith, a Philadelphia born playwright, producer, and actress earned a B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has held various roles in Theater, Media and Fashion. Donysha has been featured in projects for Oxygen Media, SuperStar Films, Ethereal Films and Fathom Entertainment. Donysha is a New York theater producer and performer and has played roles across a wide array of theatrical genres. From classics like “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Hamlet” to experimental productions such as “Sister FM Diva” and “The Poets”. ALL ABOUT LOVE marks the Directorial Debut of Donysha Smith.

Passionate about her work, Donysha believes that art does not just imitate life – it has the power to transform it! To that end, a percentage of the proceeds from ticket sales and concessions from ALL ABOUT LOVE will go to the Fistula Foundation. The Fistula Foundation raises awareness of and funding for fistula repair, prevention, and education programs worldwide. The Fistula Foundation helps women in Ethiopia, D.R. Congo, Angola and Afghanistan repair their bodies and their lives. For more information about the Fistula Foundation, please visit www.fistulafoundation.org.

Tickets for ALL ABOUT LOVE are $18 and are available online at www.allaboutloveshow.com

Performance Schedule:

February 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th at 8:00pm

February 14^th at 6:00pm

February 21^st at 3:00pm

Lower East Side/East Village Theater Tidbit

This is an image of what was called "The Invisible Cinema" that lived in part of The Public Theater from 1970 to 1974. The filmmaker, Peter Kubelka, designed the theater with blinders on either side of each chair so as to focus your gaze entirely on the film that is being viewed.
The cinema was built for Anthology Film Archives and was made to promote their philosophy of enhancing (or prioritizing) the visual experience of film.
Kubelka said the following about the room:
The cinema built for Anthology Film Archives was comparatively small in size, seating less than one hundred people. Ceiling, walls, seats were all covered with black velvet, the floor was covered with black carpeting, doors and everything else were painted black. In the whole room, only the screen itself was not completely black. Consequently, the screen and film projected on the screen were the only visual points of reference. In a cinema, one shouldn’t be aware of the architectural space so that the film can completely dictate the sensation of space.
A friend of mine sent me the post made by the blog We Are Independently Wealthy that wrote about the Invisible Cinema which was such a serendipitous moment. I thought that this would be some fun fact information that could be enjoyed by all. If possible I would jump at the chance of watching all my movies like this. Of course, it does make movie-watching hand holding difficult.

FAB Funders get Chalked on the Block!

Here are the names of the wonderful people who were part of our Kickstarter Campaign to help keep me working at this wonderful job. Fourth Arts Block thanks everyone who gave and I am certainly grateful, too since I can stick around and blog to my heart's content! This was just one of the gifts that I would give as a thanks to donations. Now I have to get cracking on some haikus and start knitting some scarfs. Thanks again to everyone who gave and come out to the block to see my chalk art before Mother Nature washes it away...

ArtUp's "Are We There Yet?" Installation Day

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 13:00, Sunny skies and 20 degrees Fahrenheit:

K. Savage with the ropes that will be used to haul 3 of the masonite panels at a time, from the street to UP to the scaffolding bridge.


















The bird's eye view from the scaffolding bridge.















Dry wall screws, washers and simple footwear.



















CLAMPS were key, thanks Jacob Hashimoto for the lending it to us!




















We decided to work backwards, we were half way done securing the top of the panels on the scaffolding bridge. K. Savage and Brian George with the panel referencing Hannah Höch.















Tamara Greenfield, Director of Fourth Arts Block, lending us a hand and her eye.















Brian George screwing the our final panel to complete the top half of the installation.
















From left, Brian George, K. Savage, Joyce Manalo and the Blue Ladder.















Smooth installers...high fives!!!















Posted by Joyce Manalo, ArtUp Curator and founder of ArtForward.