Paradigm Shift

The ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL shines the light on women and leadership in film.  Paradigm Shift has been a proud partner since the festival’s launch three year ago.  The full program and special events are now available on their website http://athenafilmfestival.com. If you’re able to spread the word about Athena, please do!  You can stay connected with the fest on Facebook and Twitter where they will be posting any updates until the festival.

We have a great lineup of directors scheduled to attend for Q&As, including Brenda Chapman for Brave, Mary Fishman for Band of Sisters, David Riker for The Girl, Angela Alford for Granny’s Got Game, Andrea Meyerson for I Stand Corrected, Bonnie McFarlane for Women Aren’t Funny, Ava DuVernay for Middle of Nowhere and Cecilia Peck Voll for Brave Miss World. We also have producers, screenwriters, the stars of several of the films and more!

Tickets can be purchased here.

PARADIGM SHIFT MEMBER DISCOUNT – enter the code AFFSPON21 at checkout to receive a discount on any full-priced ticket (reducing the price from $12 to $10).  All tickets are $5 for students.

If you know anyone who is interested in attending the festival with younger viewers, please email us at athenafilmfestival@gmail.com.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. The Feminist Majority Foundation is partnering this week with the Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign and over 45 other organizations to build momentum and solidarity for reproductive health, rights and justice.

Won’t you join the march and forward this to your friends and family?

Pro-choice women and men spoke out resoundingly in the 2012 elections – defeating some of the most virulently anti-choice candidates and re-electing President Obama, a staunch supporter of women’s reproductive rights and health. And we defeated a ballot measure in Florida that would have outlawed public funding for abortion and endangered all women should Roe ever be overturned.

But despite these victories, extreme anti-choice members of Congress wasted no time in re-introducing legislation to cut off family planning funding. And right-wing governors and state legislators escalated their War on Women. In its lame duck session, the Michigan legislature passed an extreme TRAP law (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) in an effort to close abortion clinics. In Mississippi, the only remaining clinic is threatened with closure should a federal court allow that state’s TRAP law to go into effect.

We must make sure our voices are heard! So we are joining over 45 organizations in the Trust Women online march – please join today!

The majority of women and men across the country support comprehensive healthcare for women and reproductive freedom – and yet we are still fighting for our fundamental rights. This online march is a way for us to stand in solidarity, show our numbers, and send a strong message to elected officials that we’re watching and we vote.

Click here to join the march and send your message supporting abortion and contraception access for all women today.

When you join the online march, you’ll be able to see messages from people marching around the country, and you’ll be able to choose your own message to send in support of comprehensive women’s health care.

So please join the online March for Trust Women Week now and make your voice be heard!

For women’s equality,
Ellie Smeal
Feminist Majority Foundation President

For Immediate Release
Contact: Erica Ruff (517)930-6380 erica@poetictheater.com

Poetic Theater Productions and Timberline Knolls Present faith in Association with
NORMAL on January 26th as Part of Poetic License: A Festival of New Poetic Theater

Poetic Theater Productions, a NYC theater company committed to developing works of new poetic theater, and Timberline Knolls, a leading residential treatment center helping women and adolescent girls seeking lasting recovery from eating disorders, are thrilled to present a special one night engagement of Caroline Rothstein’s solo play “faith” on January 26th, 2013 at 8PM at the Wild Project as part of Poetic License: Poetic Theater Productions’ 2nd annual festival of new poetic theater. The performance will be followed by a Q&A discussion with qualified experts in the field of eating disorders, nutrition and mental health. “faith” had a sold-out limited engagement in April as part of Culture Project’s Women Center Stage 2012 Festival, and received the 2012 Planet Connections Award for Outstanding Overall Production of a Solo Show. This powerful program is presented in collaboration with NORMAL In Schools (NORMAL), a national nonprofit that educates about eating disorders through an array of arts and mindfulness programs.

“faith” is writer and performer Caroline Rothstein’s autobiographical account of her experience with and recovery from a decade-long eating disorder, following her gut-wrenching struggle to cope with the expectations and turmoil of coming of age. From feeling lost in the hallways of a suburban Chicago high school, to hallucinating on a bedroom floor in West Philadelphia, to giving advice to a stranger in a Manhattan deli, Rothstein empowers herself beyond self-doubt, letting go of shame, and embracing her inner core. In an interview with Stage Buzz about the show, Caroline wrote, “I have always been deeply honest and outspoken about my story as a means to promote awareness, prevention, and recovery with regards to eating disorders through advocacy, activism, and the arts. ‘Faith’ is the largest and most comprehensive artistic work I have created to date that acts as a vehicle for awareness and change.” In the show’s uplifting and powerful narrative, the audience witnesses not only the challenges of self-empowerment, but the sheer redemption of which we are all capable when we embrace our ability to love and support ourselves by letting go of shame. “faith” is a highly artistic theatrical work meant not only to raise awareness of eating disorders but also to demonstrate the healing power of theater itself.

The presentation is suitable for children 14 and up, parental discretion advised.

faith
8PM on Saturday, January 26.
Written and performed by Caroline Rothstein.
Directed by Alex Mallory. Lighting design by Brad Peterson, Sound design by Sean Hagerty, Stage Management by Sarah Livant.

Part of POETIC LICENSE, Poetic Theater Productions’ 2nd annual festival of new poetic theater, featuring 15 shows and more than 75 artists. The festival runs Monday, January 21 – Sunday, January 27. Wild Project – 195 E 3rd St (between Avenues A & B).
Tickets $15
Tickets can be purchased through OvationTix by calling 212.352.3101 or online at
www.poetictheater.com

The Box Office opens one hour prior to curtain.

Caroline Rothstein (Writer and Performer) is a New York City-based writer, performer, and eating disorder recovery advocate. She hosts the YouTube series “Body Empowerment,” sits on the Board of Directors for the NORMAL nonprofit organization, and has been a Resource Person for ANAD since 2000. She was a member of the 2010 Nuyorican Poets Cafe slam team, which placed second at the 2010 National Poetry Slam. Her award-winning one-woman play “faith” debuted as part of the Culture Project’s Women Center Stage 2012 Festival. Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, xoJane, and Narratively amongst other publications. She has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Alex Mallory (Director) is Co-Artistic Director of Poetic Theater Productions with whom she has directed the award-winning productions of Goliath by Takeo Rivera and faith by Caroline Rothstein. She has developed work at Lark Play Development Center, Culture Project, Primary Stages, Atlantic Stage II, New Georges, NYU, the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and currently works at Culture Project. Alex is a graduate of Stanford University, where she received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts and the Sherifa Omade Edoga Prize for work involving social issues. Associate Member of SDC, Directors Lab Chicago alum.

Poetic Theater Productions, led by Co-Artistic Directors Jeremy Karafin and Alex Mallory, seeks to define the modern genre of “poetic theater” by connecting and fostering a community of artists who are passionately creating relevant and accessible work and reinvigorating a conscious theater of language. Through a multi-runged platform of developmental programming, Poetic Theater Productions offers resources and opportunities for poets, playwrights, and theater artists to develop new work and see it through to production. PTP seeks out and creates opportunities to connect with communities affected by the issues of topic within our productions, in NYC and nationwide, through collaborative projects and exchanges of art and ideas. www.poetictheater.com

NORMAL is a national nonprofit that educates about eating disorders, body image and self-esteem through arts and mindfulness programs. We connect the leading scientists with award-winning artists to develop evidence-based educational programming that are measured in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health. http://www.normal-life.org

Timberline Knolls is a leading private residential treatment center for women and adolescent girls (ages 12 – 65+) with eating disorders, substance abuse, trauma, mood and co-occurring disorders. Located in suburban Chicago, residents receive excellent clinical care from a highly trained professional staff on a picturesque 43-acre wooded campus. Women and families seeking Christian treatment can opt for specialized Christian-based therapy. For more information on Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, call us at 877.257.9611 or visit www.timberlineknolls.com.

Taking place at Culture Project in the East Village, are three performances featuring all-female musicians which range from world music, folk, jazz improvisation to modern flutists. You can view the quick details by date below or for additional information on each show, please see below my signature.

Tuesday, Jan 15 7:30 pm: Rose & the Nightingale

Tuesday, Jan 15 10:00 pm: Flutronix

Saturday, Jan 26, 7:30 pm: Nadje Noordhuis & Jo Lawry

EVENT DETAILS 

Tuesday, Jan 15: Rose & the Nightingale

7:00 pm Doors
Rose & the Nightingale is four powerful New York based multi-instrumentalists and improvisers: Jody Redhage (voice, cello, compositions), Leala Cyr (voice, trumpet), Sara Caswell (violin, mandolin), & Laila Biali (voice, piano). The band’s warm sound of three part vocal harmonies, intricate arrangements, and burning solos has proven to cut through to a deeper level of connection with audiences. http://roseandthenightingale.com/

Tuesday, Jan 15: Flutronix
9:30 pm Doors
Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins- Hull are Flutronix, a critically acclaimed pair of fresh and eclectic flutists who are paving the way from their classical roots to the future of music. Their original compositions, described by NewMusicBox as “equally indebted to and comfortable in several musical lineages,” navigate daring forms of popular, experimental, and contemporary classical music while implementing electronics and digital effects. http://flutronix.com/

Saturday, Jan 26: Nadje Noordhuis CD Release Party
7:00 pm Doors
Australian-born trumpeter/composer Nadje Noordhuis celebrates the release of her long-awaited self-titled album. Combining cinematic sweep, transportive emotion, and rich melodic grandeur, Noordhuis possesses one of the most unforgettably lyrical voices in modern music. She was one of ten semi-finalists in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and was selected as a Carnegie Hall Young Artist to undertake a weeklong residency with trumpet great Dave Douglas in 2010.  She will be joined by fellow Aussie and accomplished singer, Jo Lawry. Join these two Aussies as we celebrate Australia Day on January 26th! Every ticket purchase includes a complimentary digital copy of Nadje’s self-titled record!
http://littlemysteryrecords.com/nadjenoordhuis  :: http://www.jolawry.com

Shows are presented by Kaplan Music & Entertainment and T Presents and will be held at Culture Project (45 Bleecker, at Lafayette). Click the links above for ticket information.

About Kaplan Music & Entertainment

Brothers Marc and Steven Kaplan are music entrepreneurs and lifelong lovers of the arts. With Marc’s background in music education and Steven’s background in business, the two decided to combine their talents and interests to create Kaplan Music and Entertainment, an incubator for ideas known and unknown. The company’s first venture is SubCulture, a performing arts and event space opening in 2013 in the subterranean space of the Culture Project Theater at 45 Bleecker St. in downtown Manhattan. With SubCulture, Marc and Steven hope to share their passion for art in all its many facets through a diverse range of performances and programs. 

Join CONNECT and Sakhi for South Asian Women to attend

YOU’RE INVITED TO MOTHER TONGUE MONOLOGUES FOR LESBIAN ANCESTRAL WIVES AND REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN SPEAKING THE UNSPEAKABLE.

JOIN BLACK WOMEN’S BLUEPRINT ON FEBRUARY 16, 2013, 6pm RECEPTION, and at 7:30pm a Benefit Performance to Support Collaboration and Prevention Programs on Sexual Assault In Communities Of African Descendants.

Honorees:
AISHAH SHAHIDAH SIMMONS, Black Lesbian Feminist, Filmmaker & Activist

STACEYANN CHIN, Spoken Word Poet, Performing Artist and LGBT Rights Political Activist

THE COALITION OF AFRICAN LESBIANS, human rights defenders representing 11 countries in Africa.

Celebrating the bravery, tenacity, outspoken and fierce activism of U.S. based human rights defenders Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Staceyann Chin on issues impacting survivors of sexual violence, women and members of LGBTQ communities. In making the connection between the local and the global, there will be special acknowledgement of the work of the Coalition of African Lesbians representing 11 countries in Africa.

Conceived By Farah Tanis
Co-Founder, Black Women’s Blueprint | Founder, Museum of Women’s Resistance

Event Co-Chairs:
DR. BEVERLY GUY SHEFTALL, Ph.D., Founding Director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies, Spelman College.

DEEPA SOUL, Chairwoman/CEO of LARA (The LGBT Academy of Recording Arts)

DR. ALEXIS PAULINE GUMBS, Ph.D., Queer Black Feminist Media Activist, Founder, Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist .

JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, Award Winning Choreographer, Founder, Urban Bush Women

Directors
Lori Payne and Pope Jackson

EVENT DESCRIPTION
“It is not difference which immobilizes us but silence. And they are so many silences to be broken.” ~Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider.

Mother Tongue: Monologues for Lesbian Ancestral Wives and Revolutionary Women Speaking the Unspeakable will draw you into deeper conversation about one of the most taboo subjects in Black sexual politics—same sex love and gender nonconformity. With beautiful imagery, evocative music and bold movement and choreography, poets, drummers, dancers and actors dramatizing and performing community will speak of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identities of people in Black communities that remain intensely controversial, and/or dismissed as an insignificant aspect of their lives. READ MORE www.mothertonguemonologues.org

The Langston Hughes Theater
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Saturday, February 16, 2013
6:00PM Reception | 7:30PM Performance
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York 10037
Tickets $25/$35/$50
Purchase Your Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/289548