Here's my selection of events in Rochester this week:
Thursday, November 13
- Starting at 5 p.m. at Solera is their 8th Anniversary. [source: Facebook, 2014-Nov-10]
- From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Nazareth, Grahame Russell will explain Why are People Fleeing Honduras and Guatemala.
Grahame Russell, a non-practicing lawyer, author, adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia will talk about what are the underlying causes of why so many Central Americans have fled by land to the United States over the past decades, how U.S. economic and military policies have helped cause the very conditions that people flee from, and what can we do from the USA to help with this situation.
[source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- At the Little at 6:30 p.m. is a free screening of America By The Numbers: Surviving Year One with a visit by host Maria Hinojosa.
Join us for a free screening of a film that looks at the infant mortality rate in Rochester. This is part of a nationally-televised series called America By the Numbers. The host of this series, Maria Hinojosa, will be here in person to lead a discussion after the film. […] America By the Numbers, a new documentary series on WXXI-TV, focuses on the dramatic demographic shifts taking place in this country. Producers recently traveled to Upstate New York to find out why the infant mortality rate in Rochester was two times higher than the national average.
[source: Little Theatre e-mail, 2014-Nov-5]
- The Bertrand Russell Forum, hosted by Walter Uhrman, returns to Writers and Books tonight at 7 p.m. Tonight, Solomon Blaylock will present a lecture titled William S. Burroughs: Nothing is True; Everything is Permitted. [source: Writers and Books website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Tuba Mirum performs in Kilbourn Hall tonight at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- The Dryden will screen Outcast of the Islands (Carol Reed, U.K. 1951, 102 min., 35mm) tonight at 8 p.m.
The romantic allure of the South Seas provides the backdrop to this adaptation of Joseph Conrad's story of desperate man [sic] fallen into crime and besotted with a beautiful but unobtainable native woman. Trevor Howard's portrayal of a man caught in his own web of despair and grasping at one last perceived chance for survival is both shocking and compelling.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Updated: Starting around 8:30 p.m. at The Carriage House (LOCATION REDACTED) is Mincemeat or Tenspeed, Nick Hennies, Andrea Pensado, Jake Meginsky, Unguent, and Spiritual Recess. [source: Facebook, 2014-Nov-13]
Friday, November 14
- Tonight at the Greenhouse Cafe (2271 E. Main St.) starting around 6 p.m. is a Poetry Workshop followed by an Open Mic at 7 p.m., and the Breathing Fire: Teen Poetry Slam at 7:30 p.m. with Rachel McKibbens. [source: Writers and Books website, 2014-Nov-10]
- From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Artisan Direct Art Space (565 Blossom Rd.) is Unlocking the Chastity Belt: An Exploration of Shame and Sexuality.
Consensual sex between adults is not shameful. That seems like a pretty straight-forward statement but many people still experience shame around their sexuality. This free lecture will explore some of the ways that sexual shame manifests in our culture and the effect it has on our ability to explore and enjoy our own sexuality.
[source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- Tonight at 7 p.m. in Hoyt Auditorium on the University of Rochester Campus is a screening of Fixed (Regan Brashear, U.S. 2013, 60 min.)
A haunting, subtle, urgent documentary, Fixed questions commonly held beliefs about disability and normalcy by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and mind forever. Told primarily through the perspectives of five people with disabilities: a scientist, journalist, disability justice educator, bionics engineer and exoskeleton test pilot, Fixed takes a close look at the implications of emerging human enhancement technologies for the future of humanity.
[source: University of Rochester Cinema Group website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through November 23, the Bread and Water Theatre is hosting performances of God of Vengeance by Sholom Asch.
In the winter of 1906, Sholom Asch and a group of young writers gathered in the home of Y.L. Peretz, one of the founders of modern Yiddish literature, to read Asch's first play, God of Vengeance. Upon completing the read, Peretz turned to Asch and said, "Burn it". The play continued to provoke controversy, culminating in its English-translated Broadway premiere in 1923 when its cast and producers were thrown in jail on obscenity charges. Still intensely provocative in 2014, this new adaptation tells the story of a wealthy brothel owner who desperately tries to preserve his daughter's purity. But the father's sin runs deep and his daughter holds a dark secret… a secret love affair with one of her father's prized prostitutes. A challenging drama tackling issues of domestic violence, hypocrisy, and the collision between modern and traditional worlds, God of Vengeance is universally acknowledged as one of the toughest plays of the Yiddish canon.
[source: Bread and Water Theatre website, 2014-Nov-10]
- The Eastman School Symphony Orchestra performs in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre tonight at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- Tonight at 8 p.m. the Dryden will screen Lian lian feng chen (Dust in the Wind, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan 1986, 110 min., Mandarin, Cantonese, and Min Nan w/ subtitles, 35mm).
This semi-autobiographical tale of two young lovers facing the pressures of Taiwanese society focuses on Ah-yuan, an apprentice in Taipei supporting his family, and his girlfriend, Ah-yun who works in a tailor shop. Struggling to make ends meet, they are suddenly thrust into a trying situation—Ah-yuan is drafted into the military and they are forced apart for three years. The first in our Hou Hsiao-hsien series, this heartfelt and deeply moving story about love, hope, loss, and life includes beautiful photography of the Taiwanese countryside and a minimal soundtrack that delicately ties the film together.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]
- 23 Psaegz, Hinkley, Stoney Lonesome and The House of Lights, and With Snack perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 9 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
Saturday, November 15
- Today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at East High School is TEDxRochester 2014. [source: Facebook, 2014-Nov-10]
- From 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the Eastman House, Bill Pollock will present a Focus 45 lecture titled What's Old is New Again: Applying Film Technology to Touch Screen Sensors.
Bill Pollock, president and CEO of Optimation Technology and Kingsbury Corporation, will discuss the technology behind touch screen sensor manufacturing, the role that Rochester companies play in this multibillion dollar market, and ways that this traditional process can be applied to other industries.
[source: Eastman House calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- At the Record Archive starting around 3:30 p.m. is an in-store performance by Mike Doughty, prior to his concert later tonight. [source: Record Archive e-mail, 2014-Oct-14]
- From 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education is this year's Chili Cookoff. [source: Genesee Center for the Arts website, 2014-Nov-10]
- This evening at RIT from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. is Rochester Chipfest, "one of the larger Chiptune Music Festivals in the Northeast." [source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- At the Tajze Wine and R&B Lounge (139 State St.) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. is a Thanksgiving Potluck. "Prizes will be awarded for best meat, side, and dessert. Please bring a non-perishable food item for donation to a local food bank." [source: Rochester Black Young Professionals website, 2014-Nov-10]
- The Dryden will screen La grande illusion (Grand Illusion, Jean Renoir, France 1937, 117 min., French w/ subtitles, 35mm) tonight at 8 p.m.
Grand Illusion is Jean Renoir's masterpiece and one of his most humane films. Set in the tumult of the First World War, the film follows two French aviators after they are captured by the German Army and moved among various POW camps. Beyond its ambitious and timely engagement with topics as grand as war, class, and nationalism, Grand Illusion is one of the key films associated with poetic realism, a style that emerged in France during the 1930s.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Starting around 10:30 p.m. at the Bug Jar is The Ataris, Envious Disguise, effortlessly tight, fast, hard-pop-rock from Routine Involvements, and On the Cinder. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- Fortress of Attitude, humorous novelty rap band Garden Fresh, and Planet Assassin play at Monty's Krown starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: Facebook, 2014-Nov-10]
Sunday, November 16
- Today at 12 p.m. and again on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the Little will screen A Streetcar Named Desire as part of the National Theatre Live Series.
The fastest-selling production in the Young Vic's history, Tennessee Williams' timeless masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire will be broadcast live from their London home by National Theatre Live. With Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, The Fall) as Blanche Dubois, Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, Kill Your Darlings) as Stanley and Vanessa Kirby (Bbc's Great Expectations, Three Sisters at the Young Vic) as Stella. As Blanche's fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace — but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.
[source: Little Theatre website, 2014-Nov-10]
- In the Rundel Auditorium on the 3rd Floor of the Rundel Library Building David Crumb will speak of Rochester's Rich History about James A. Hard: The Last Union Combat Veteran of the Civil War from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. [source: Monroe County Library website, 2014-Nov-10]
- This afternoon at 5 p.m., the Dryden will screen Monsters, Inc. (Peter Docter, U.S. 2001, 92 min., 35mm).
Ostensibly aimed at children, this animated film is actually made for the child in everyone. Living in Monstropolis, home to the monsters who jump out of closets and scare little children at night, our heroes Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) are confronted with the awful specter of the one child who isn't afraid. Facing one's greatest fear has never been so much fun. Great voice work from an impeccable cast matches the imaginative animation of the Pixar illustrators.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Askultura, Ryan Eldred, fun ska from Mrs. Skannotto, Ivy's Panic Room, and The Forever Era perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 9 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
Monday, November 17
- The Eastman Trombone Choir performs in Kilbourn Hall tonight at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
Tuesday, November 18
- From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lovin' Cup is the 2014 Beard Bounty, a benefit for Roswell Park Cancer Institute, sponsored by the RIT B.E.A.R.D.S Club.
Beard Bounty is a charity event sponsored by RIT B.E.A.R.D.S club to benefit Roswell Park Cancer Institute. This year, we've teamed up with Art House, a special interest housing option at RIT to bring the Rochester community together through facial hair appreciation and charity. By registering for the event, you are agreeing to compete in the competition on November 18th, 2014 at Lovin' Cup.
[source: Lovin' Cup website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Jeff Slutsky, and Michael Stetts perform at Boulder Coffee on Park Ave. tonight starting around 7 p.m. [source: Boulder Coffee calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- The Dryden will screen A Philistine in Bohemia (Edward H. Griffith, U.S. 1920, 25 min., 35mm), and The Stolen Voice (Frank H. Crane, U.S. 1915, 59 min., 35mm) starting at 8 p.m. tonight with live piano accompaniment by Philip C. Carli.
The Dryden Theatre is proud to present a double feature of George Eastman House 28mm restorations. In The Stolen Voice, a singer (Robert Warwick) at the height of his career loses his voice through the hypnotic influence of an evil rival. But he finds a livelihood in a medium where a voice is not necessary—moving pictures. Preceded by A Philistine in Bohemia, which captures much of the spirit of the O. Henry short story of a Lower East Side girl and an Italian immigrant associated with a Bohemian restaurant.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Starting around 9 p.m. at the Bug Jar is Lesionread, electronic and guitar duo Sparx and Yarms, and Kristachuwan. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
Wednesday, November 19
- Charismatic acoustic soloist Scott Regan, and great, witty acoustic soloist Maria Gillard perform at Sticky Lips BBQ Juke Joint from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tonight. [source: Sticky Lips website, 2014-Nov-10]
- Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Redeeming Word Christian Center (60 Woodward St.), Cheri Honkala will give a talk on Stories of Survival and Resistance.
She has been called one of the most endangered activists in America and has been arrested over 200 times for demonstrating, committing civil disobedience, and organizing for the human rights of America's poor and homeless. For over 20 years she has been setting up tent cities, planning housing takeovers of vacant government buildings, leading marches and caravans, and educating poor people about their rights. Honkala ran for Sheriff of Philadelphia on a no evictions platform. In 2012 she was the Green Party's nominee for vice-president in the U.S. presidential election.
[source: Facebook image with no copyable text, 2014-Nov-3]
- The Eastman Horn Choir performs in Kilbourn Hall tonight at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2014-Nov-10]
- At 8 p.m., the Dryden will screen 3 Godfathers (John Ford, U.S. 1948, 105 min., 35mm).
For this Technicolor film, Ford decided to remake Marked Men, a 1919 silent now considered lost. The script by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings (based on a novella) loosely adapts the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men to the Old West. Three outlaws—john Wayne, Harry Carey Jr., and Pedro Armendáriz—try to save a newborn infant while being pursued across a desolate desert by lawman Ward Bond.
[source: Dryden website, 2014-Nov-10]