Author: Jenny Kessler

Jenny is a local designer who has a passion for people and for Cincinnati. She began writing for UrbanCincy in September 2009, and served as the website's operation manager until March 2012. Jenny currently works for ArtsWave and manages the OTR Urban Kickball League.

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Arts & Entertainment News

MPMF partnering with public library to bring family-friendly programming to this year’s festival

The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County is teaming up with the MidPoint Music Festival to offer family-friendly daytime programming during this year’s music fest.  Organizers have planned a trifecta of media offerings based around Cincinnati’s music scene that will be available during all three days of MidPoint, September 23-25.

“We’re geared for nightlife, but we hear from folks wanting to experience the festival during the daytime,” said Dan McCabe, the festival’s executive producer. “The library has done a great job creating compelling programs we’re lucky enough to offer for free. Anyone can enjoy this, but especially parents who don’t normally get out to see live bands…this is your chance to bring your kids out, hear some music, and not be in a late-night bar.”

The Downtown branch of The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, located at 800 Vine Street, will host music performances by local bands on the outdoor terrace at 12pm and 4pm each day of the festival.  Thursday will include performances by Magnolia Mountain and The Bears of Blue River, Friday will have The Young Republic w/Adrein & The Fine Print and Tobie Milford, while The Coppertone and The Trouble With Boys will close things out on Saturday.

The Library is also offering a photography exhibition in the main atrium of the South Building. Where the Kids are Goin’ Tonight: Music Photography by John Curley, David Garza, and Michael Wilson is a showing of three photographers from Cincinnati who have turned their focus toward musicians – including locals like Magnolia Mountain, Wussy and Greenhorne, as well as out of town visitors like Lyle Lovett.

On Wednesday, September 15, Mr. Rhythm Man from 89.7FM WNKU will host the exhibition opening that is open to the public. Curley, Garza, and Wilson should be on hand to talk about their work and there will be giveaways, including a chance to win passes to MidPoint Music Festival. The exhibition will be on view through October 8.

Finally, in addition to the music on Saturday, the Library’s Real to Reel documentary series will be highlighting stories from Cincinnati’s musical past with three films.

The series kicks off at 1:30pm with Midsummer Rock, a 1970 WLWT-produced documentary of the Cincinnati Summer Pop Festival featuring some of the first filmed performances of Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Grand Funk, as well as rare footage of Steve Winwood’s Traffic. Then at 3pm Philip Paul: Keeping the Beat honors the career of the former house drummer at King Records, who still plays weekly at age 85. Next at 3:30pm take a closer look at The Historic Southgate House, one of the region’s storied music venues. And finally at 4pm follow one of Cincinnati’s best-known bands on their 1993 European tour in Ladies and Gentlemen: The Afghan Whigs. The filmmakers will be on hand to introduce each work in the Library’s tower room.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Organizers now accepting registrations for region’s first TED event

Registration is now available for Cincinnati’s first locally organized Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) event.  Organized by individuals from LPK and Procter & Gamble, TEDxCincy will offer tickets for this experience will cost $55 for individuals, $35 for students.

Along with featured speaker Dhani Jones, the day’s lineup is expected to include a contingent of the region’s leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers and entertainers representing diverse professions and backgrounds.  Event organizers say that additional speaker announcements will be made soon that fit into the event’s theme of passion.

TEDxCincy is scheduled to run from 8:30am to 5:30pm on Thursday, October 7 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in downtown Cincinnati.  Stay up-to-date with the latest news on the region’s first TED event by following along on Twitter @TEDxCincy, or by becoming a fan on Facebook.  Tickets can be reserved now through the event’s website.

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Business Development News

The Yoga Bar to serve up strong sense of community downtown

The Yoga Bar of Cincinnati
Yogis at the Yoga Bar

Rachel Roberts was tired of traveling, and as a well-known and beloved yoga teacher in the Cincinnati area, she was splitting her time between several different studios, none of which were near her home in downtown Cincinnati. As a result, Cincinnati’s newest yoga studio called The Yoga Bar was born.

“I am committed to a walkable lifestyle, and I wanted all my energy to be in one place,” said Roberts about her previously demanding travel schedule. “I want to give where I live.”

Furthering this commitment to place, Roberts says that Sangha, the Sanskrit word for community, illustrates the desire to connect those living in the downtown area. The idea, she says, is to create a welcoming, non-intimidating activity where people can learn more about each other and grow closer.

“Where else can you learn more about others’ lives than at a bar?,” she asked.

Yes, there is a bar inside to yoga studio located about the newly opened Rice Rocket Asian Grill at 825 Main Street. The space once home to a piano bar and discothèque called Club Crush, had been abandoned for some time. Now that the space has been re-imagined as a yoga studio, patrons are encouraged to come early, stay late, and congregate in the space as they get to know the people with whom they practice as they enjoy items like coconut water and kombucha at the bar.

In addition to the bar offerings and pristine white space for practice, The Yoga Bar will also boast a small retail selection. Roberts expects the space to be such a hit that she plans to offer the studio up on weekends for community members to rent for other activities.

The Yoga Bar (map) will officially open on Friday, October 2, and will be celebrating its grand opening with a Yogini-tini Martini Party as a way to introduce the community to the space. Roberts also says that there will be a ganesha puja brahmin to come and bless the new space before practice gets underway.

Once open, The Yoga Bar will offer daily classes Monday through Friday. Prices will range from $15 per class to $108 for a monthly membership. Those interested can stay connected to grand opening plans and more by following The Yoga Bar on Twitter @TheYogaBar, or by becoming a fan of the studio on Facebook.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Know Theatre announces four new productions for 13th season

The innovative and eclectic Know Theatre has announced its “lucky 13” season with four new main stage shows, a new artistic director, and involvement in several educational and outreach oriented collaborations.

The Over-the-Rhine theatre company has a reputation for producing quality shows that stretch the boundaries of traditional theater, and this season is bound to be no different.  In addition to its main productions, the theatre is also involved in the seventh annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, will host a New Year’s Eve speakeasy party, and is a collaborator for educational shows such as Calculus: The Musical! Three out of the four new main stage shows announced (one is still in the works) range the gamut from a passionate love affair to space and time travel.

Skin Tight, the first show of the 2010-2011 season, is a performance detailing the unique pain and passion that love and loss provides. The production is directed by Drew Fracher and will run from October 9-30.

“Skin Tight is a unique piece combining beautifully poetic text with intense physical action on stage,” described newly appointed Producing Artistic Director Eric Vosmeier. “I’m excited to see what Drew can do with this kind of show which I suspect will be unlike anything Know Theatre audiences have seen on our stage before.”

Vosmeier helped steer the theatre through a turbulent time last season, and is excited to see where the Know is headed in the future. Productions such as the theatre’s holiday show, A Wrinkle in Time which is a stage adaptation of Madline L’Engle’s classic book, help to stir that excitement. Jason Ballweber will return from his wildly popular Sideways Stories From Wayside School production last year to lead Meg and Charles Wallace through space in time to save their father. The show will be produced in collaboration with the Four Humors Theater in Minneapolis.

The final show of the season, The Dragon, will be produced alongside Madcap Puppet Theater, another local institution. Local playwright and actor Alison Vodnoy will be adapting the 1943 version of the play. With the exception of two characters the cast will be entirely puppets, created, designed and built at the Madcap Theatre. Experienced puppet theatre director Irina Niculescu will be directing.

A Wrinkle in Time runs November 27 through December 26, 2010, and The Dragon will run from April 2 through May 7, 2011. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Know Theatre box office at (513) 300-5669. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 the week of the show, and season subscriptions cost $48.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Roll on down the BIG RIVER with Carnegie’s newest production

The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center will honor and celebrate one of America’s most beloved authors with its season opener of BIG RIVER | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain may have infamously described Cincinnati as 20 years behind the times, but the Carnegie is both timely and appropriate with its revival of the 1983 musical adaptation of Twain’s most famous novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

A quick review of high school English reminds us that Huck Finn tells the tale of an irrepressible young boy living the dream on the riverboats of the mighty Mississippi River, helping his slave friend Jim escape to freedom, and having quite the adventure along the way.

The musical version, scored by legendary country music writer Roger Miller, stays true to the original story, and the Carnegie’s cast showcases some of Cincinnati’s brightest young talent. There are 11 actors under the age of 22 in this show, and the young man playing the title role is recent Sycamore High School grad and incoming Wright State University freshman Zack Steele, recognized as the “Outstanding Supporting Actor” at the 2009-10 Cappies Awards (honoring local high school theatre) and winner of the city-wide Overture Awards scholarship for college-bound musical theatre students.

Local actor Bill Harnett plays Mark Twain, reprising this character from his run on the Showboat Majestic in “Mark Twain Tonight!” The cast and crew are directed by sensational duo Dee Ann Bryll and Ed Cohen, who have won many awards regionally for their talent and directing skills.

“We feel privileged to be working at The Carnegie with BIG RIVER and a super cast that combines some of the area’s best local talent with six of CCM’s students. To us, BIG RIVER is the quintessential American summertime musical, and we’re excited to bring this unique version of Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” to The Carnegie’s audience,” the team said.

During the season there will be performances that are accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing through closed captioning and interpretation services offered by the theater free of charge. This is made possible through a collaboration between The Carnegie and the Sign Language Interpreting & Deaf Studies programs at the University of Cincinnati. Captioning has been offered for major theatrical performances at The Carnegie since 2006 thanks to the support of volunteers.

The interpretative performances of BIG RIVER will take place on Saturday, August 21 and August 28.

BIG RIVER opens this Friday, August 21 and runs weekends (Friday Saturday and Sunday) through September 4th. Friday and Saturday evening performances will take place at 7:30pm, and Sunday matinees will start at 3:00pm. Tickets cost $26 for adults; $23 for Carnegie members, Enjoy the Arts members, or WVXU Perks Card members; $21 for groups of 10 or more; and $19 for students. Those looking to take part in a particularly interesting social outing can take part in the tweetup scheduled for the performance on Friday, August 20.

The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center is located at 1028 Scott Boulevard in Covington, Kentucky. Tickets can be purchased online, or by calling the center’s box office at (859) 491-2030.

“All of us contain music and truth, but most of us can’t get it out” – Mark Twain