Moving Pictures News

Charter Oak Cultural Center announced today that it will be hosting a virtual edition of the 4th Annual Hartford Jewish Playwriting Contest.

This February, Montreal audiences will be able to get a taste of Hollywood's pre-talkie era through Cote Saint-Luc Dramatic Society's (CSLDS) production of Kaufman and Connelly's comedic play, Merton of the Movies.

Food has many uses, one of which is communicating an emotion. It can even hold a memory. These themes surrounding the emotional resonance of food is the overarching raison d'être for playwright Julia Cho's 2016 play AUBERGINE, which continues performances at Orange County's South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through November 16, 2019. In her introspective, cautiously-paced play, food is used as a means for bonding and connection---because standard communication by other methods doesn't seem to be as effective in conveying one's feelings.

BUTTERFLY (23mins), a film written and directed by Bonnie Foster, is entered into competition at the 15th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival, October 17-20, 2019.

The spectacularly musical, touchingly dramatic, surprisingly funny and profoundly moving chamber opera, AS ONE, by Laura Kaminsky, Kimberly Reed and Mark Campbell, made its long-overdue return to New York on Thursday, in a production by Matt Gray as part of New York City Opera's spring season.

MUSE/IQUE continues its signature Uncorked series on Sunday, May 19, 2019, at California Institute of Technology's Millikan Pond, with SWINGING/STARS, a dynamic musical journey that will unfold beneath the stars. MUSE/IQUE founder and artistic director Rachael Worby will lead pianist Alan Steinberger, bassist Michael Valerio, percussionist Ted Atkatz, guitar virtuoso Laurence Juber, the ARORA vocal group, vocalist Kenton Chen, and Dr. Michael Watkins, Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in an evening featuring both classical and popular songs about the cosmos

MUSE/IQUE, Pasadena's pioneering performing arts organization, is proud to announce its second summer music series at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens on July 6, August 3 and August 24, 2019. Performances will take place at the Library Lawn. All programs are led by MUSE/IQUE Founder and Artistic Director Rachael Worby, and feature the MUSE/IQUE Orchestra with special guests including vocalist Joshua Henry, cellist Ben Hong, vocalist Liv Redpath, American Ballet Theatre dancers, piano duo Anderson & Roe, and more to be announced.

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC presents an immersive exhibition animated with light, sound, and moving images - Shadows, Strings and Other Things: The Enchanting Theatre of Puppets, on display from May 16 to October 14, 2019. Curated by Dr. Nicola Levell, an associate professor of museum and visual anthropology at the University of British Columbia and sought-after independent curator, this enchanting exhibition details the role puppetry traditions have played from generation to generation in the transmission of cultural knowledge, stories, and values around the world. Visitors will have the opportunity to view more than 250 handcrafted puppets drawn from MOA's collection - the largest in Western Canada - plus, new acquisitions from China, Brazil, Italy, Java, the UK, and France revealed to the public for the first time.

From February 20 to March 2, the 37thannual Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, presented by Hydro-Québec, in collaboration with Radio-Canada, will include a significant number of Quebec-made films in English. Spanning a range of genres, including comedies, drama and thrillers, and tackling topical issues like sexual and cultural diversity, the program has something to please every cinephile. The Rendez-vous is an excellent opportunity to learn more about how our films are made, thanks to the many artists and other film professionals who attend the festival. 

It is difficult to fully appreciate the volume and quality of songs written by Irving Berlin in your head at one moment. Most of us over a certain age know several, but we might not always connect each one to Berlin. We always know he was responsible for 'White Christmas', of course, and 'God Bless America', but you might only know that 'I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm' was written by one of those names...Cole Porter perhaps, or Jerome Kern.

When one thinks of Stephen Schwartz, the lyricist and composer of theater titles 'Godspell,' 'Pippin,' and 'Wicked,' or the films 'Pocahontas,' 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and 'Enchanted' come to mind. How about 'Children of Eden'? Probably not.

The Broad Stage presents Billy Childs and his Jazz Chamber Ensemble on Sunday, November 11 at 7:30pm. One of the foremost American composers of his era, pianist Billy Childs embodies a unique blend of jazz and classical music. The multi-GRAMMY Award winner's groundbreaking project merges improvisation and jazz rhythms with the orchestration and instrumentation of a traditional chamber ensemble.

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ravinia's Steans Music Institute (RSMI) last summer, Ravinia launched a competition for composers who could fuse the worlds of jazz and classical music. Due to its success, Ravinia, with the support of DownBeat magazine, is now calling for submissions to the second annual "Bridges" international jazz and classical fusion composition competition, overseen by legendary pianist Billy Childs and double-bassist Rufus Reid, who co-direct the RSMI Jazz Program. Up to three winners will receive the David Baker Prize, named in recognition of the first RSMI Jazz director. The prize includes $2,500 in cash plus the world-premiere performance of the winning piece during Ravinia's 2019 season.

Son of Semele announces the nine exciting artists and solo works that will make up the 2018 edition of its popular Solo Creation Festival, performed at the Son of Semele Theater at 3301 Beverly Boulevard, from July 12 to July 29, 2018. This curated showcase for the diversity and creative potential of solo performance, founded in 2014, is a proven incubator for works that go on to be performed elsewhere in LA - including multiple festival alumni in the Hollywood Fringe - as well as in other U.S. cities and abroad.

Cast and production team were announced today for Promethean Theatre Ensemble's Joint World Premiere production BLISS (OR EMILY POST IS DEAD!) by Jami Brandli. Promethean's staging, to be directed by Anna Bahow, is part of a rolling world premiere for the play, along with San Diego's Moxie Theatre and Los Angeles's Moving Arts at Atwater Village Theatre. BLISS (OR EMILY POST IS DEAD!) is a dramedy in which four women of Greek tragedy - Clytemnestra, Medea, Antigone, and Cassandra - become New Jersey neighbors in the year 1960. The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE called it "a hilarious, sharply written and fast-paced comedy-drama."

The world premiere performance of SANCTUARY ROAD (subtitled “An Oratorio Based on the Writings of William Still, a Conductor for the Underground Railroad”), by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, performed by the Oratorio Society of New York under Kent Tritle, burst forth from the stage of Carnegie Hall the other night, with energy, humanity and, of course, great musicality from all involved.

One of the most widely acclaimed shows to address the issue of gun violence and mass school shootings in America is returning to the stage. And the reason for its return, according to producers, is simple: There is still so much more to say.

One of the most widely acclaimed shows to address the issue of gun violence and mass school shootings in America is returning to the stage. And the reason for its return, according to producers, is simple: There is still so much more to say.

Russian film maker Denis Kulikov's dream has come true with his latest feature film So You Want to be a Gangster? gaining international distribution across video on demand platforms around the world. Kulikov knew from a young age where he was heading, and since moving to Los Angeles in 2012 where he was already standing out as an extraordinary producer amongst his peers. “Since early childhood I loved watching movies but even more, I enjoyed footage from behind the scenes and all sorts of documentaries about film production.” He says.

Russian film maker Denis Kulikov's dream has come true with his latest feature film "So You Want to be a Gangster?" gaining international distribution across video on demand platforms around the world. Kulikov knew from a young age where he was heading, and since moving to Los Angeles in 2012 where he was already standing out as an extraordinary producer amongst his peers. 'Since early childhood I loved watching movies but even more, I enjoyed footage from behind the scenes and all sorts of documentaries about film production.' He says.