Actor, mockumentarian and (now) documentary filmmaker Harry Shearer will be at the International House (3701 Chestnut St.) on Friday, July 22, to screen and discuss “The Big Uneasy,” his film about the real reasons behind the flooding and devastation of New Orleans.
Shearer’s work has ranged from the role of Derek Smalls in “This is Spinal Tap” to the voices of Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns and Ned Flanders on “The Simpsons.” He writes about “The Big Uneasy”:
“Media coverage of tragedies can become so pervasive that we no longer remember the tragedy anymore, we only remember the coverage. So if I say “New Orleans” and then say “flood” you immediately think “Katrina.” As in Hurricane. This is not your fault; it’s a reflex now, like your leg kicking upward when the doctor taps it. Only that tap is causing you to kick me, and my fellow New Orleanians, squarley in the crotch. The reason I made this film is because the hurricane did NOT cause the flood, despite what you have heard on the news. However, poor science and even poorer management did.”
The film begins at 7 p.m. and is 98 minutes long. Here is a trailer:
As part of PM @ Penn Museum Summer Nights program, West Philadelphia Orchestra is performing tomorrow from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the museum’s Trescher Garden.
Fourteen musicians playing a wide range of instruments, including trumpets, baritone horns, saxophone, sousaphone, clarinets, violins, and drums, create an interesting blend of Eastern European folk sound and jazz, punk, and soul.
Just a reminder: tickets for Penn Museum Summer Nights concert series are only $5 and include museum admission. For more information go here.
Check out a cool fan video of one of West Philadelphia Orchestra’s performances.
Almost everything is ready for the 6th annual installment of Shakespeare in Clark Park. Yesterday the technical crew set up the equipment and actors began rehearsing in the park.
This year Shakespeare in Clark Park company presents “Much Ado About Nothing,” which is set in a post-war town. Alex Torres will direct the performance. You can learn more about the show here.
The performances will take place July 20 through July 24 (Wed-Sun) at 7 p.m. If it rains on the day of a performance it will be relocated to Curio Theatre (48th Street and Baltimore Avenue). For more information go here.
And finally, don’t forget to bring blankets, chairs and picnic food.
Sets and lighting were installed and actors began rehearsing yesterday. (Photos by West Philly Local).
This year Walnut Hill Community Association (WHCA) turns 50 and its annual Community Day will be a great way to mark the anniversary. All neighbors are invited to join the celebrations this Saturday, July 16, from 11:00 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 50th and Locust Streets. There will be live music, free food, moon bounce, raffles, and other fun stuff. See the poster for more details.
Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut Street 3rd Floor) presents a special Storyville screening of short films about Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. tonight at 7 p.m. The films Arab American Road Movie (2005, 14 min), Tales from Arab Detroit (1995, 45 min), I, Too, Sing America and 9-11 Moments (2002) are produced by Detroit-based filmmaker Joan Mandell who will be at the screening in person.
Photo courtesy of Scribe Video Center (http://scribe.org).
Tickets are $5 for general public, free for Scribe members, Muslim Voices participants and Al Bustan Seeds of Culture staff, students and members.
Mandell will also present a workshop on oral history tomorrow, July 9, at 11 a.m. You can register online here or by calling 215-222-4201. Tickets for this event are $20 for general public, $10 for Scribe members and free for Muslim Voices participants.
Erik Ruin, the current 40th Street Artist-in-Resident, invites neighbors to the opening of his new exhibition tonight, from 7 to 9 p.m., at a temporary storefront gallery at 4212 Chestnut Street (below the Scribe Video Center).
The exhibition, titled “Staring at the Cracks,” features a combination of prints, projections and sound to tell stories of solitary confinement. Ruin managed to construct a unique environment to share the emotions and experiences of formerly incarcerated people.
Some rooms are populated with wall-size print installations, other rooms – by shadow-puppet and video projections by Ruin and award-winning Toronto filmmaker Brett Story.
Along with the installations speakers throughout the space will play snippets of audio interviews with men and women describing their experiences in solitary confinement. Finally, innovative klezmer and jazz trombonist Dan Blacksberg will play a unique and haunting bed of sound to enhance the dramatic atmosphere.
The exhibition will run until July 23 and will be the last in a series of exhibitions presented by Ruin as a 40th Street Artist-in-Resident. On July 23, Ruin will be bidding farewell with an all-day studio sale, live music, and closing reception (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.).
To read more about the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence program click here.
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