Click here to buy Spare A Dime tickets – just $10 general admission!
Proceeds benefit COSACOSA's youth programs citywide!
Spare A Dime's dynamic duos take the stage. It's wonderful to see the great rapport among Spare A Dime's cast and crew – most especially evident in the song cycle's distinctive duets. Above (left to right), Phyllis Chapell and Julian Coleman (as The Farmer and The Immigrant) rehearse Promised Land, a song about the American dream; Khrista White and Victor Rodriguez (as The Merchant and The Builder) rehearse Change in the Making, a song about life after the Works Progress Administration; and Lourin White and Ken Ulansey (as The Veteran and his whistle-playing shadow) rehearse Citizen Conservation, a song about the Civilian Conservation Corps. Percussionist François Zayas and bassist Jason Fraticelli look on stage right.
Click here to buy Spare A Dime tickets – just $10 general admission! Proceeds benefit COSACOSA's youth programs citywide!
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The historic Bok Tech Theater now is Spare A Dime's stage. After nearly a year of planning, community interviews, writing, artwork creation, and music-making, the Spare A Dime cast and crew moved our set, gear, and rehearsals to the historic Bok Tech Theater today! With the help of our amazing professional tech crew (thank you, George, Walter, Terry, Mike, and Rodney!) and dedicated Bok students working with COSACOSA and Bok staff, the Spare A Dime stage was set in perfect time for our singers and musicians to rehearse. Please join us next week for our premiere performances – Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. • Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. • Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $10. Tickets may be purchases online at www.pifa.org/events/10 or by calling COSACOSA at 215.385.2554 We want you – to hear all about the WPA in song and to see this gorgeous WPA-built space! Spare A Dime's projected sets unite city residents, past and present. Illustrations by artist Steve Teare animated by designer Gerardo McGarity-Alegrett create projected backdrops for Spare A Dime singers, while photographic replicas by city residents create visual counterparts to audio stories. We call this corner store our dimestore, where the character of The Merchant sings Pocket of Blues, a song describing the Great Depression. The Builder later joins her here to sing a duet, Change in the Making – look for a WPA poster to appear in the window!
Join us for Spare A Dime on April 18, 19, and 20, 2013! Get your tickets today! Spare A Dime animated images bring the urban environment to life. Illustrations by artist Steve Teare animated by designer Gerardo McGarity-Alegrett create projected backdrops for Spare A Dime singers. This cityscape appears as the character of The Builder sings Foundation of Hope, a song about searching for a job and for hope in a time of economic crisis.
Join us for Spare A Dime on April 18, 19, and 20, 2013! Get your tickets today! A talented bevy of singers celebrates the WPA with songs of work and democracy. Brielle Leary, soprano Leary graduated from the Philadelphia Creative and Performing Arts High School as a vocal major and was a member of the all city choir for four years. She has sung in countless concerts and musicals, as well as performing for many church events and community shows. Under the direction of Victor Rodriguez, Leary appears regularly in musical series at the Rotunda. She recently graduated from Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, soon to be licensed with her own beauty hair care salon. "I'm a life-long singer," Leary said, "I will sing anywhere, anytime!" Andi Rose, soprano Rose equates singing with marriage...'til death do us part! She was bitten by the singing bug at the age of five when a woman at her school sang “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands." Musical theater is Rose's favorite performance style, and her numerous leading roles include Maria in West Side Story and Annie in Annie Get Your Gun. For three seasons she was a cast member of Lafferty’s Wake at Society Hill Playhouse. She recently performed Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado with the acclaimed Savoy Company. Rose is a proud member of Screen Actors Guild. She is happy to be working with Victor again and is thrilled to be a part of the Chorus of Liberty. She quotes Calvin Coolidge, "The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have little." Donnie Hammond, alto Hammond always wanted to be a performer; her mother laughingly claims she could dance before she could walk. Hammond graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School and spent one year in college before she decided to work at her chosen craft full time. She has appeared with in Philadelphia venues including at the Society Hill Playhouse in Motherhood: The Musical and at the Prince Theater in Jamaica. She was featured in the German tour of the Original U.S.A. Gospel Singers. "I love singing and playing different people," Hammond said, "so musical theater is what I always enjoy the most." Sherria Watts, alto Sherria Watts, Philadelphia native is no stranger to the stage. She has appeared in numerous musical theater productions including Grease (Rizzo), Hair (Dionne), and Alice in Wonderland (the Duchess). Watts holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theater from West Chester University where she was a starring member of a finalist team participating in the Kennedy Center's American College Theater Festival. Watts has taught dance and musical theater throughout the region and now uses her skills as the Children's Program Coordinator for a major martial arts company in the Delaware Valley. "I'm excited for this project," Watts said, "and for the opportunity to perform again." A talented bevy of singers celebrates the WPA with songs of work and democracy. Joanne Joella, contralto Joella is a voice acting and voice development coach and founder of JoellaArts Voice and Speech at Sherman Mills in East Falls. Over the years, she has been a consultant for Philadelphia Magazine, Men’s Health, Phillyfit Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer as well as appearing on Marty Moss-Coan’s Radio Times an expert on Philadelphia regional sounds and accent reduction. Joanne has also performed in various Musical Theater productions throughout the region and has fronted or lent her powerful vocals to an array of rock bands. “Being part of Spare A Dime is an opportunity of a lifetime to feel the virtual presence of the history of my parents and grandparents," Joella said. "I know more about myself, my family, my country, and what my future may hold. Words cannot express how awesome it is to perform in the Bok High School Auditorium and to know that the spirit we honor was the force behind the creation of the Bok. Thank you, Brothers and Sisters of the WPA! We will share your time.” For more information about classes and private coaching at JoellaArts, please visit her website, www.joellaarts.com Brian S. Rothman, tenor Rothman is a second grade teacher at Forrest Elementary School. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from Albright University and a Master of Elementary Education from Holy Family University. Brian has been performing in regional community theater for more years than he would like to count. Favorite roles over the years have been in Little Shop of Horrors (The Dentist), The Fantasticks (Matt), Once Upon a Mattress (Prince Dauntless), Honk! (Ugly), Beauty and the Beast (Cogsworth), The Drowsy Chaperone (Feldzieg), Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Louie), Grease (Kenickie), Annie (Oliver Warbucks), Cabaret (Cliff), and Godspell (Judas). When not performing or teaching, Brian spends time training his Australian shepherds, Beezie and Topper, and his Dachshund, Tawney. "Thanks to all my friends and family for their support over the years, especially Victor Rodgriguez for getting him involved with Spare A Dime! Spread Kindness..." Bruce Fero, baritone Fero is a member and soloist in the Philadelphia Gospel Seminar Choir and One Faith Gospel Music Ministry. A resident of Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood, he is also active in the choir at St. Paul's Evangelical Church. Among his extensive musical theater credits are performances in Come Blow Your Horn, Gypsy, The Chalk Garden, and The Azuza Street Revival. Fero is also a veteran, having served in the United States Air Force in England. He shared his stories for Spare A Dime's character of The Veteran, and helped COSACOSA staff recreate modern-day versions of WPA photographs of veterans. "When politicians didn't (or don't) care," Fero said, "change needs to come from within our communities, from people working and struggling for something better." Gary Bullock, bass Bullock has been singing in organized choirs since he was in third grade (sometime during the Harding Administration), and is presently a bass in the St. George’s Episcopal Church Choir, where he began over fifty years ago. In recent years, he has appeared in a significant number of local theater productions including Macbeth (Banquo), Cabaret (Herr Schultz), Adrift in Macao (Mitch), Don’t Drink the Water (Krojak), Jesus Christ Superstar (Bartholomew), and Sweeney Todd. "Many thanks to Kim, Victor, and particularly Joanne Joella for the confidence to include him in this wonderful production. As always, special thanks to the Bullock family for their love and support, especially Marlee, for whom I have been a work in progress for thirty-four years and without whom none of this would be possible. Life is a journey, not a destination.” PIFA 2013 launched today with the theme "Where will you #timetravel2?" The 15 minute mini-musical "Flash of Time" plays nightly through the festival at the Kimmel Center. Check out Spare A Dime vocalist Julian Coleman at the front of the top platform!
We'll finish up our artist posts this week with profiles of our Chorus of Liberty members. Then, follow us next week as we begin to build our set at the historic Bok Tech Theater and start tech and dress rehearsals! Click here to get your tickets to Spare A Dime today! The Spare A Dime Chorus of Liberty hits the recording studio to celebrate democracy. From left: Spare A Dime Production Coordinator Rodney Whittenberg; Victor Rodriguez leads the Chorus of Liberty – Gary Bullock, Bruce Fero, Brian Rothman, Joanne Joella, Sherria Watts, Donnie Hammond, and Briele Leary (Andi Rose not pictured) – at Melodyvision Studio.
Spare A Dime's Chorus of Liberty took their turn recording songs for the cast album today. Led by Victor Rodriguez (who is also singing the role of The Builder), the Chorus performs two songs, one celebrating freedom and civic responsibility, the other lauding work as progress. See our work in progress! Stay tuned for news about more open rehearsals and other public events leading up to our live performances – and get your tickets today on the PIFA 13 website! "Music and art, even in the best of times, find what is not right in the world and use it as inspiration for creativity and change." "Music and art, even in the best of times, find what is not right in the world and use it as inspiration for creativity and change," said François Zayas, percussionist for Spare A Dime. "In that way, the music of the Great Depression is really no different than any other time period, with the full range of emotions expressed, sorrow to happiness." Zayas is currently collaborating with Spare A Dime lead vocalist Venissa Santi on a new album re-imagining the songs of Billie Holiday in new rhythmic forms, many from the 1930s. Zayas is a composer, arranger and percussionist. Born in Cuba, Zayas graduated from the ISA (Instituto Superior de Artes) in 1998 and taught at that institution for nearly five years. He was a member of the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba for 10 years while collaborating with different projects and bands from diverse backgrounds such as jazz, hip hop, rock and other genres. From 1994 to his 2006 move to the United States, he made several international tours with different groups. In the last six years he has collaborated with many musicians, choreographers and educators, sometimes with his own arrangements or original compositions, at other times as an instrumentalist. Click here to listen a sample of Zayas' many talents. Click here to get your tickets to Spare A Dime! "easy people to get along with...are constantly adapting to an array of situations." Spare A Dime ensemble member Jason Fraticelli blends his influences in a variety of musical styles. Fraticelli is playing upright bass in the project's jazz quartet. "The upright bass can be a humble, yet aggressive, instrument that connects with the melodic aspect of music, while being highly rhythmic," he said. "Its main purpose is to support both these melodic and rhythmic elements; at the same time the player's personality and 'voice' merges with the music at its foundation. Musical commitment can easily be achieved through the upright bass as it's a very physical instrument that utilizes a large range of the player's body." Fraticelli offered a musical analogy to the lessons learned from the Great Depression, "Bass players tend to be easy people to get along with, maybe because they are constantly adapting to an array of situations musically. They learn to navigate through these situations while giving their best and adding a uniqueness that speaks to their musical personality." Fraticelli exists in many different facets of the music community. As an upright bassist, he has played with many different musicians, including Skerik (Les Claypool) and Billy Martin (MMW), and has performed and toured in groups such as The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Melody Gardot, and Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of the Spirits. He also records with several different bands in the Philadelphia and New York area. Fraticelli's musical ventures with the electric bass include playing and touring as part of rap and reggae star Matisyahu’s band. In this group, Jason played alongside longtime friend and peer Aaron Dugan, whom was the guitarist for Matis, and with whom he was able to explore his bass playing through reggae and dub music for the very first time. During years prior, Fraticelli had been experimenting with avant garde/jazz/punk rock, with Dugan, in a band called Astro-Cusion. He has also frequented the New York scene, on electric bass, in the groups Aaron Dugan’s Theory of Everything, Taylor McFerrin’s The Cell Theory, and Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music. Fraticelli began his musical career as a drummer, and his work as a percussionist is heard on recordings with groups Senor Salty Balls, Shadowdance, and Sinking Ship. Fraticelli is also a composer, with work ranging from a 10 piece ensemble commission from the Painted Bride Art Center, to work as singer and songwriter with his own band, Jason Fraticelli & The Wet Dreams. He has two records in the works, a new album with his band, entitled Under the Influence of 'Hearing' and a recording of his Painted Bride commission, The Mother’s Suite, inspired by the love, respect, and loss of a mother. Fraticelli studied performance and composition at Bucks County Community College and at New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. Learn more and listen to Fraticelli on his website www.jasonfraticelli.com Click here to get your tickets to Spare A Dime! |
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