Art visual np2

Sandra Hughes directs   Ghost of the Living , a play written by Zafirah Matthews - a young playwright from the Bronx, NY. The play premieres at the Alliance Black Box Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta on Saturday, November 5th at 7 pm as part of the 3rd Annual Young Voices With New Visions Short Play Fest. To purchase tickets choose the Evening Showcase by clicking here . Elizabeth Hirsch-Tauber  , a film, television and stage actor, portrays Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a 15 year old girl who lives alone with her single father. Her mother, April, passed away when Elizabeth was 11 years old. No one know how she died, or even if she died. ... Zarfirah Matthews Playwright Ghost of the Living The cast also features adult actors Matt Bartholomew, Veanna Black, Jackie Costello, Michael Hickey, Lynn Hesse and Marissa Octavia Boyd as well as youth actors Michael Iluma and Destiny Jackson. Briana Adams is the stage manager. The production is co-produ...

W.B. Yeats’ constructed dramas for the stage that demanded unique vocal abilities from his actors. Through the use of  words intoned and spoken at specific pitches Yeats sought to enhance the emotional and poetic impact of his dramas. Decades before I saw a Yeats’ play produced; I heard the playwright’s words spoken. As a child it was the voice of Cyril Cusack, a member of the Abbey Theatre, who introduced me to the Lame Beggar in The Cat and the Moon , the Tramp in The Pot of Broth and the Old Man in Purgatory . Irish actress Siobhan McKenna’s voice conjured Emer in The Only Jealousy of Emer and Mrs. Henderson in The Words Upon the Window-Pane . My theatre work involves national and international travel. I’m always eager to attend theatre productions in Atlanta and elsewhere. Nevertheless, I’ve had only one opportunity to experience a production of a Yeats’ play. During the early 1980’s I met Dr. James Flannery - Winship Professor of Arts and Humanities and the Directo...

Photo: Mitch Birnbaum     Initiation and Reconciliation   Feathered God, ancient knowing let me drink again at The Hawk’s Well. Sandra Hughes, “The Hawk”, 1992           Where will I find the words to tell this story? I meet in a house with fourteen others. We sit at a table with books in hand to read aloud and discuss plays, poetry, essays and autobiographical excerpts written by a man dead for seventy- two years – a Nobel prize-winning Irishman who passed away before all but one of us was born.      Each time we meet the need to marry my thoughts with those of the deceased in an alchemical process that renders a whole that is more than the sum of its parts consumes me. I find I’m elated then dismayed by what I have in common with William Butler Yeats. It’s an intimate and, at times, painful experience that consistently requires acknowledgement of how deeply Yeats speaks to and of me. At its core ...

To View Performance Photos Click Here . Water is Life: Hidden Springs, Atlanta is an outdoor site performance designed, written and directed by Sandra Hughes. The production features drama, dance, masks, mime, music and visual art to celebrate the times when Atlanta’s now hidden natural springs were visible and usable - before , during and after the American Civil War. This year marks the beginning of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Hidden Springs premieres on Saturday, November 5 at 3 p.m. for Atlanta’s 2011 Art on the Beltline. The performance site is located off Memorial Drive on the section of the Beltline behind the H. Harper Station Restaurant at 904 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, 30316. The performance is free and open to the public. To view the program for the performance click here . A number of specific natural springs in Atlanta inspired the creation of this production –  the spring beneath The Mask Center (located on the ground floor of the Little...

Atlanta’s Art on the Beltline has selected sixty-six visual and performing art pieces to present along the 22-mile loop of proposed transit and urban green space. Water Is Life – Hidden Springs, Atlanta   (the performance piece I proposed) is included as part of this three month event which is now in its second year. *** One Saturday morning I join a number of the other artists to walk part of the Beltline to locate sites for our outdoor projects. Early into the hike a fellah walks up beside me and says, “Hi, Sandy”. “Hi.” "You’re from Erie,” says he. “I am,” says I. I look him over carefully and decide I don’t know him. He certainly seems to know me. *** Presque Isle, Erie PA - Oct. 2010   Photo: Sandra Hughes   Usually, only family  members and long time friends call me Sandy. Occasionally,  someone says it intuitively which I always appreciate because I actually prefer Sandy to Sandra. I adopted the use of my full, formal, first name some...

To View Performance Photos Click Here .   Water is Life Part 1 Hidden Springs   Atlanta Spirit of the Springs Inspiration Two major influences, history and healing, inspired the creation of Hidden Springs - an original, outdoor, site specific performance work. In September 2000 I became the Artistic Director of The MASK Center - located on the ground floor of The Little Five Points Community Center in Atlanta. During renovation into an exhibit, studio and performing venue Joe Shifalo, the then building manager, told me the space was directly above a spring that had once been part of a field hospital that treated injured soldiers during The Civil War. I think of this often as I work and create in the space. This historic reality has been aching to express itself artistically for over a decade and especially now as 2011 begins the 150th anniversary of The Civil War. Water to Heal During the summer of 2009 with support from Alternate ROOTS and the Ford Foundation I returned...

Honeybees are Important! written and directed by Sandra Hughes was performed by Gateway Performance Productions in Atlanta, Georgia on February 25th. The production was  presented  by Young Audiences at the Woodruff Arts Center.  Principal performer and master gardener  Jerilynn Bedingfield portrays an Italian Honey Bee. Italian honeybees are favorites of  beekeepers in the USA.  Honey Bee is in trouble! Comic characters from the Italian Commedia del' Arte Theatre - Michael Hickey as Arlequino and Sandra Hughes as Columbina - are determined to do everything they can to help Honey Bee stay healthy and able to pollinate to keep all the delicious, nutritious foods she makes possible in their diet... Photos: Bunny Vrooman ... and in their beloved chicken Sylvia's diet as well. Sylvia is portrayed by Fieldtrip- a particularly gentle chicken who lives at Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur, Geor...

  Amazon Dance Theatre - Development  Workshop Gateway Performance Productions - The MASK Center Allen Pittman in Collaboration with Jerilynn Bedingfield, Gwyneth Bragdon, Lynn Hesse, Sandra Hughes Photos: Mitch Birnbaum World Class Martial Arts Instructor Allen Pittman met with Theatre and Dance Artists at The MASK  Center in Atlanta, Georgia on January 22 & 23, 2011 to workshop his performance design based on the Amazon form he's developed, nine feminine archetypes and the enneagram. The Greek Goddess Athena Gwyneth Bragdon Magdalene, The Initiatior L. Gwyneth Bragdon R. Lynn Hesse Sword Strategy C. Sandra Hughes - L. Allen Pittman - R. Lynn Hesse, Gwyneth Bragdon The Initiator - Variation L. Allen Pittman - R. Gwyneth Bragdon 

I heard hurdy gurdy music from the middle ages a couple of days ago. It was primal, passionate and invoked ancient body memories that provoked and seared the present moment with its power. I’ve searched the play lists online at WABE Public Radio, Atlanta, but haven’t yet found the piece of music I heard. I THOUGHT A HURDY GURDY WAS A BARREL ORGAN with a handle the organ grinder turned while his monkey passed the hat. It turns out this instrument was called a hurdy gurdy during the 18th century. The hurdy gurdy I was searching for is a different instrument. It’s sometimes called a wheel fiddle, is at least 800 years old and is having a resurgence. If you don’t know the instrument, you can see and hear it at this video link . The music is nicely rendered, but lacks the intensity of the performance I heard several days ago. My youtube search for hurdy gurdys took me to Eluveitie’s Inis Mona video . Inis means “island” in Gaelic. The island I saw in the video was familiar and the song emit...

The 13th Sector Pathways on a Living Planet Episode 1 , The Prologue A Spoken Word Drama Written by Sandra Hughes The prologue to The 13th Sector was performed, produced by Gateway Performance Productions and presented by the Academy Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia on November 29, 2009. It's the prelude to a longer work performed in episodes and was inspired by my experiences as a workshop facilitator and participant at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. The play explores the notion of positive global transformation and an imagined future in the context of the environment and a worldwide reconnection with nature through the creation of an enlightened association of global gardeners who strive to heal the planet. The script is available to read at my literary arts profile and you can also view production art created by Michael Hickey .

Many thanks to those of you attended the the Benefit Concert for Gateway Performance Productions on August 23rd at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta made possible by the considerable and delightful talents of Celebrity Impersonators Margie Mangham as Minnie Pearl, Melody Knighton as Dolly Parton, Craig A. Meyer as Elton John and Harold Schulz as Young Elvis with solid backup from the music trio The Blue Suedes. Melody and I made a surprise appearance as Lucy and Ethel! With the help of our wonderful Benefit Committee Co-chairs Tom Spach & Bunny Vrooman, our Board Chair Chris Moser and a host of incredible supporters and volunteers- a wonderful time was had by all! Curtain call with Celebrity Impersonators and Gateway co-founders Michael Hickey & Sandra Hughes P hoto: Michael Birbaum. Melody Knighton & Sandra Hughes as Lucy & Ethel

"Frida and Diego in 4" -a tribute to Mexican visual artists Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera - is a dance theatre piece choreographed and directed by Sandra Hughes, performed by Jerilynn Bedingfield and Michael Hickey to original music by Tom Spach in hand-carved masks created by Mr. Hickey. It previews on Sat., May 30th as part of the Southern Order of Storytellers Spring Story Fest. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy Theatre in Atlanta. "Frida and Diego in 4" then premieres in Denmark on June 18th at the Aeroe International Maskfestival . The Journey to "Frida & Diego in 4" What emerged during rehearsals for "Frida & Diego in 4" lead to the creation of a piece about Frida's essential passions - her art and Diego Rivera. It lasts a 4 little over minutes. The journey to these handful of minutes took years. Photo: Sandra Hughes Performer: Jerilynn Bedingfield Frida Kahlo said there were two great accidents in her life....

This summer I'll provide arts programming for a Kid's Yoga and Art camp at Stillness Yoga in Marietta, GA located at the corner of Roswell Road and Old Canton. The dates are: June 1 - 5 July 13 - 17 August 3 - 7 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Call 770-337-9335 for more details There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other, wings. Hodding

A Winter Celebration for Transformation produced by Gateway Performances Productions in collaboration with the Dancing Flowers for Peace, the New Acropolis Cultural Association of Atlanta and performing artists from String Theory was performed on December 29, 2008 to a capacity audience at The Academy Theatre. Guest spoken word artist and musician from Santa Fe, New Mexico Robert Poorman - accompanied by David Hirschorn's inspired guitar music - was a wise and, at times, whimsical ring master. Mask theatre performed by Gateway's director, choreographer Sandra Hughes and mask maker Michael Hickey conjured the duo's ancient Irish ancestors. String Theory performed by poet Alice Teeter, violinist Chip Epsten, choreographer-dancer Priscilla Smith and dancers Eleanor Brownfield, Jaehn Clare, Steve Seaberg and Sally Wylde evoked cheers from the crowd. Atlanta's beloved Dancing Flowers for Peace - represented by Karen Adler, Lynn Hesse, Sandra Hughes, Randy Hyman, Leila La...

Here are photo images of Michael Hickey and I in my new play Coyote and the Bees at the Chat tahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, Georgia on Saturday, July 5th. Honeybees are currently dying all over our planet. In the play when the coyotes fin d out about this they are determined to find a way to help the honeybees. Coyote and the Bees is a perfect show for youth and family audiences. It's now available to tour nationally and interna tion ally. Please contact Gateway Performance Productions in Atlanta for more information: email: gatewaypp@masktheatre.org phone: 404 222 9262 or fax: 404 222 9680. Photos by: Michael Birnbaum

Carolyn Renee of Women Helping Others Advance invited me to do a visual art workshop for The Artist's Way Group she currently facilitates on Tuesday nights at The MASK Center in Atlanta. The workshop focused on a process that explored boundaries, collaboration and individual expression. Here's Carolyn at work and a triptych created by five p articipants.  photos: Sandra Hughes

Coyote and the Bees - premiered Saturday, July 5 at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Atlanta. Award-winning and featured nature photographers - Michael and Nat Birbaum - assisted us with set up as coyote and bee masks waited patiently for Michael Hickey and I to donn them to be gin the show. I wrote the play to address the current world-wide challenges to our honeybee population. Coyotes once faced near extinction and now thrive well beyond their original geographic areas. In the play the coyotes come to the assistance of the dying and disappearing honeybees and encourage humans to do the same. With masks and puppets created by Michael Hickey, movement and music Coyote and the Bees is ideal for family and youth audiences. It's now available to tour statewide, regionally, nationally and internationally. For more information or to arrange a performance please contact Gateway Performance Productions phone: 404 222-9262.

At today's Learning Exchange - Gathering at the Crossroads of Art and Community - sponsored by Alternate ROOTS and hosted by The Horizons School in Atlanta I had the opportunity to facilitate a 2 hour workshop on collaborative visual art. Participants created work that represented principals for Community Arts Projects. Here are images (in the process of drying) of Marie Cochran's "Partnership" (bottom), Michael Hickey's "Transformation" (center) and my "Shared Power (top) along with photos of Marie and Michael at work. Marie is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art and Design at Western Carolina University. Michael is a theatrical designer, the mask maker in residence at The MASK Center in Atlanta and a visual artist. photos: Sandra Hughes

bb I spent four days with Nena Couch , curator of the Sandra L. Hughes Theatre Collection at the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State Univeristy .While there I created audio tapes to detail and deepen the history contained in the collection as we organized press clippings and other items. As you can see in this photo of Nena and TRI staff member Orville Martin the collection which not only documents over 30 years of my professional career in theatre, but the history of Gateway Performance Productions and my work with artistic collaborators such as mask-maker/performer Michael Hickey and composers Tom Spach and Allen Welty-Green is in excellent hands. Many thanks to Alternate ROOTS , the Ford Foundation, Gateway Performance Productions , Bunny Vrooman and the shipping team at Diversified Metal Fabricators in Atlanta, Tom Spach, Kit and Ron Austin, Karen Simmons and Michael Hickey . Their support made this experience possible. "Theatre is the u...