Posts Tagged ‘John Heard’

Mysteries of the Mind at the Sunshine from Darkness Gala

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

Sunny Florida welcomes WordTheatre actors:

* Linda Cardellini (ER, Grandma’s Boy)
* Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies)
* John Heard (Prison Break, Home Alone)
* Samantha Mathis (American Psycho)
* Linus Roache (Law and Order, The Wings of the Dove)

performing Mysteries of the Mind at the Sunshine from Darkness Gala in Sarasota, Florida.

Mysteries of the Mind is an original WordTheatre production featuring the words and stories of visionary artists, inventors, scientists and scholars woven together with music and performed by world class actors.

Sunshine from Darkness, has raised more than $200,000 in 2009. Every penny of which goes to research because their expenses are underwritten by corporate and private sponsors and donors. Through symposiums and other events, their goal is to provide funding and resources for research and awareness efforts supporting mental health and brain disorders.

The Gala takes place on Sunday, January 10, 2010, at 6:30 pm at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. The evening begins with cocktails and a gourmet dinner Followed by the presentation of the 2009 Luminary Award to Gary Foster, producer of the feature film “The Soloist” starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Mysteries of the Mind will then take the stage to wrap up the evening.

Acts of Love: Pioneers

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

Acts of Love: Pioneers

October 3, 2009 @ Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

WordTheatre’s seventh annual Acts of Love in support of Autism Speaks will celebrate the Pioneers of our age, of bygone eras and of unknown futures; people who strike out into the unknown to make a better future.

This year’s show is currently being cast and will feature, among others:

  • Adam Arkin (Hitch, Chicago Hope)
  • Austin Butler (Aliens in the Attic, Ruby & The Rockits)
  • Michael Chiklis (Fantastic Four, The Shield)
  • Michaela Conlin (Bones, Enchanted)
  • John Heard (Home Alone, Prison Break)
  • Jon Huertas (Castle, Generation Kill)
  • Dorian Missick (Six Degrees, Lucky Number Slevin)
  • CCH Pounder (The Shield, Orphan)
  • Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Heroes)
  • Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Jennifer’s Body)
  • Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants)
  • Keith David (Crash, The Princess and the Frog) will narrate
  • Musical performances featuring vocalist Niki Haris with Tim McAfee-Lewis & New Thought and The Agape House Band

Acts of Love 2009 also features an awards reception to celebrate those who have made a difference in the Autism Community. Awards will be given to remarkable champions in the following categories:

Awareness/Media:Shawn Ryan (”The Shield”)

Science/Research:
Bob & Lynn Koegel (UCSB)

Advocacy:
Soryl Markowitz
(Autism Specialist at Westside Regional Center)

Family Services:Jay Nolan Family Services

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person’s lifetime. Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls.

Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed an unprecedented $128 million in new research funding to uncover the cause(s), prevention, treatments and cure for autism, making it the nation’s top private funder of autism research. They are not only dedicated to funding global biomedical research, but also to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.

Acts of Love: Pioneers is created, produced and directed by WordTheatre’s Artistic Director, Cedering Fox.

Curtain is at 7:30 PM

Pushcart Prize Benefit

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

 

Pushcart Prize Benefit

Word Theatre NY

June 27, 2009 @ Guild Hall

 

 

James Franco (Board Member)
Amanda Seyfried (Honorary Board Member)
Jane Oster (Board Member)      
Kieran Beer  & Melissa Benson
Michelle Murphy & Robert Strada
Heidi Banks             
          
and Bill Henderson (Editor of the Pushcart Prize)

Invited you to Guild Hall as WordTheatre once again honored the Pushcart Prize, considered “one of the most important publishing projects in American history” (Publishers Weekly), with a benefit at the newly renovated Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

This year marked the 33rd anniversary of the Pushcart Prize, and WordTheatre’s fifth year working with them. Their “yearly volumes of stories, poems and essays feature much of the best writing available in this country.” (New York Times Book Review). 

This year’s celebration featured performances of Pushcart Prize winning stories by:

Act I

  • Darrell Larson (The Manchurian Candidate, Rachel Getting Married) read “The Face” by David St. John
  • Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story, Head of State) read “By Love Possessed” by Lorna Goodison
  • Linus Roache (Law and Order, The Wings of the Dove) read “Joyas Voladores” by Brian Doyle
  • Samantha Mathis (Broadway’s 33 VariationsAmerican Psycho) read “Sundays” by Ellen Wilbur
  • Nicole Ansari (Rock n’ Roll on Broadway, As Good as Dead) read “One Moment on Top of the Earth” by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Edi Gathegi (Twilight; The Twilight Saga: New Moon; Gone, Baby, Gone) read “Bons” by Beth Tashery Shannon
  • Amy Irving (Carrie, Hide and Seek) read “The Dead Boy at Your Window” by Bruce Holland Rogers
Act II
  • Janel Moloney (The West Wing, Desperate Measures) read “Recorded Message” by Philip Dacey
  • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) read “Tomorrow’s Bird” by Ian Frazier
  • Sean Young (Bladerunner) read “Not the Plaster Casters” by Janice Eidus
  • Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Escapist) read “The Human Table” by Marvin Cohen
  • Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Joan of Arcadia)read “The Kiss” by Pamela Painter
  • Jackson Rathbone (Twilight; The Twilight Saga: New Moon) read “The Bank Robbery” by Steve Schutzman
  • Amy Irving (Carrie, Hide and Seek) read “The Dead Boy at Your Window” by Bruce Holland Rogers
With After Party musical performances by Jackson Rathbone and Ben Graupner 100 Monkeys

Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

Technical Director Todd J. Goldblatt

Sound Design Craig Freeman

Lighting Design Sebastian Paczynski

Special Thanks to Janes Oster, WordTheatre Board Member, for her enormous contribution to tonight’s event and Darrell Larson for his support

Special Thanks to East Hampton Wines and Liquors and Park Place Wines and Liquors

  • Mother’s Day: Family Album

    Sunday, May 10th, 2009

    This Mother’s Day, WordTheatre joined its audience at an inviting little Polish restaurant in the heart of Santa Monica called Warszawa.

    We enjoyed a gourmet Polish brunch of dried plums wrapped in bacon, potato pancakes, crepes with sweet cream, polish sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit salad and coffee all inside the warm interior ofa building reminiscent of grandma’s little cottage with white lace curtains, hardwood floors and flowery lamps.

    Then, we moved onto a cozy secret patio and heard the kind of stories that arise when the dust blowing off family albums and we are strolling down the photo-lined walls of our mother’s house and our grandmother’s house.

    The show featured:

    • Beata Pozniak (JFK) reading “Family Album” by Siv Cedering
    • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) reading “His Mother Inside Him” by John Updike
    • Lynn Ferguson (Chicken Run) reading her story “Schopenhauer”
    • Anne De Salvo (Arthur, My Favorite Year) reading “Saying Yes to Ryan” by Shelley Burtt
    • Tess Harper (No Country for Old Men, Tender Mercies) reading “My Son and the Bicycle Wheel” by Martha Ronk
    • Di Quon (Maid in Manhattan, Boston Public) reading “Water Names” by Lan Samantha Chang
    • Stephen Collins (7th Heaven, Blood Diamond) reading his story “Ace’s Big Entrance”
    • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Perfect Stranger) reading “The Parents” by Kelly Cherry

    Directed and Produced by Cedering Fox

  • Research by Melissa Loftus and Geoffrey Bridgman
  • A Smörgåsbord of Holiday Stories

    Thursday, December 11th, 2008

    A Smörgåsbord of Holiday Stories

    WordTheatre LA

    December 11, 2008 @M Bar

    WordTheatre invited audience members to indulge in tasty stories from around the world celebrating food, family and the holiday spirit.

    • Kristy Wu (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) read “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan
    • Matt Dallas (Kyle XY, The Indian) read “The Centerpiece” by Peter Matthiessen
    • Nelsan Ellis (True Blood, The Soloist) read “How Come Christmas” by Roark Bradford
    • Mozhan Marno (The Stoning of Soraya M., Traitor) read “Malke’s Secret Recipe” by David Adler
    • Richard Cox (Cruising, Salomaybe?) read a letter from Santa Claus recorded by Mark Twain
    • Sean Maguire (Eve, Meet the Spartans) read “Reginald’s Christmas Revel” by Saki (H.H. Munro)
    • John Heard (Home Alone, The Sopranos) read A Chaparral Christmas Gift by O’Henry
    • Cedering Fox read “The World in a Bowl of Soup” by Annie Dillard

    Doors at 6:30 PM and the show started at 7:30 PM

    Produced and Directed by Cedering Fox

    Celebration of the Arts for NARSAD

    Saturday, June 28th, 2008

    Saturday evening, June 28, 2008, WordTheatre presented “Mysteries of the Mind” at Twin Oaks Farm in Sagaponack, New York. Guests arrived at 7:30 PM and were free to stroll around the beautiful, sculpture laden property, with a glass of champagne. The original show, created, directed and produced by Cedering Fox, began at 8:00 PM. Cocktails, dinner and dancing will follow.

    *Actors scheduled to perform included

    • Rae Dawn Chong,
    • Gary Dourdan,
    • Kathryn Erbe,
    • Wendy Makkenna,
    • Brian Cox,
    • Nicole Ansari,
    • Linus Roache, 
    • John Heard, 
    • Harris Yulin.

    Narrated by Blair Bess

    Music performed by Deborah Lippmann with Neal Smith on percussion, Dexron Douglas on drums.
    “Deborah Lippmann’s ravishing voice evokes the lush life of smoky jazz clubs and a more glamorous time… she’s poised to be the new voice in the girl group that includes such jazzy singers as Norah Jones, Dianne Reeves, and Diana Krall.“ (Lisa Robinson, Music Editor, Vanity Fair)

    *Talent is subject to change without notice.

    The event included a Silent Auction of original artwork by Aaron Holliday.

    NARSAD is the world’s leading charity dedicated to mental health research. It’s mission is to alleviate human suffering from mental illness’s such as: schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, childhood mental disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, addictions and suicide.

    NARSAD is dedicated to funding innovative research on the causes, improved treatments and prevention of mental illnesses. By increasing funds available for psychiatric research, NARSAD strives to help those suffering from serious mental disorders to build a better future and lead productive lives.

    Headquartered in Great Neck, New York, NARSAD is guided by its Scientific Council, a group of leaders in the key disciplines of psychiatric brain disorders, who volunteer their time and talent to develop research policy and review grant proposals. The charity receives no government funding and relies solely on contributions of individuals, foundations and corporations.

    Since it’s inception in 1987 as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, NARSAD has distributed $234 million in research funds to nearly 2,700 scientists in the United States and 27 other countries.