ScrapArtsMusic stops in New Brunswick before their performance at the 2010 Olympics

On February 5, just one week before their 2010 winter Olympics debut, ScrapArtsMusic—an innovative percussion music group—gave an amazing, high-energy performance to an ecstatic State Theatre audience. More than 600 people braved the coming snow storm on Friday to watch the group perform on more than 140 different instruments (altogether weighing about two tons!) crafted from salvaged and recycled junk, including discarded artillery shells, plumbing fixtures, exhaust hose, steel oil cans, and accordion parts. Talking to attendees after the performance, the reviews were "couldn't wait to see what they would do next," and "the performance was terrific."

So, in short, it was really a great night and we hope to have them back soon. In the meantime, we can't wait to watch them at the 2010 Olympics on Sun, February 14th. And we hope you watch too. For more on ScrapArtsMusic visit: http://www.scrapartsmusic.com/.

—Kelly Skinner, Director of Public Relations

(Pictured above: ScrapArtsMusic members with State Theatre staff members Katie Pyott, Jenn Cunha, and Kelly Skinner)

Report from the IPAY Showcase in Pittsburgh

Just got back from the annual Showcase sponsored by IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth). IPAY is made up of arts presenters, artists, and artist managers, all on a mission to bring high-quality performing arts to young audiences. I love being involved with this group because I meet all kinds of people from around the world who share my passion for getting kids hooked on drama, music, dance, storytelling, and other live theater. During Showcase I was voted onto the IPAY Board of Directors. It’s a tremendous honor to receive this recognition from my peers. I’m totally psyched about taking on a leadership role in the organization.

About 300 people attend the IPAY Showcase each year. We see shows—a LOT of shows—from companies around the world. This year there were 20 full-length showcases, as well as “spotlights”—10-minute excerpts—of an additional 23 shows. The companies were from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, and even Iceland. I’ve discovered some of my favorite shows and companies through Showcase and brought them here to the State Theatre. Among them are Det Lille Turneteater’s astonishing Hamlet and the playful, touching Snowflake. This week is the State Theatre’s residency with ScrapArtsMusic, an ensemble I first saw at the Montreal Showcase in 2003. I’ve been waiting seven years to get them here!

Showcase is held in a different place each year; this time it was in Pittsburgh. Our host was the Pittsburgh International Children's Theater, which is part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The Trust has transformed downtown Pittsburgh by restoring the city’s grand theaters, building new facilities, commissioning public art projects, and developing urban parks and riverfront recreation spaces. I have to say… the vast array of Pittsburgh’s arts resources made me more than a little envious! We saw Showcases at nine different venues, including the brand-new and totally cool August Wilson Center. Loved the sail-like exterior and rich purple interior.

When I wasn’t watching showcases, I was in the exhibit hall talking to artists and artists managers, participating in professional development sessions, and of course, partying with friends and colleagues! With so many activities packed into four days, the conference kept me hopping from 8am until as late as 11pm. By the way, the Director of Marketing at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is none other than Marc Fleming, who used to be Marking Director at the State Theatre. Marc and I had a chance to catch up a little over lunch at a fantastic restaurant called Nine on Nine. If you’re ever in Pittsburgh, give it a try.

Pittsburgh was my 16th Showcase, but my first time as a member of the Selection Committee. Our group met back in June to review the submissions and choose which ones would be awarded a showcase slot. I felt both excited and a little scared; conference attendees can be absolutely brutal if they don’t like the showcase selections. I can tell you, the screening process is difficult! The committee makes its selections based on videos—always a risky proposition when it comes to assessing live theater. A couple of shows didn’t quite live up to their videos. The opposite happens, too. There was a one-woman show called Nearly Lear, an ingenious retelling of Shakespeare’s play. Based on the video, we awarded it only a ten-minute spotlight. Seeing it live, we all wished we’d given it a full showcase. Still, the feedback was that the Selection Committee did a great job overall.

Two of my favorite productions presented at Showcase were Australian imports. Plop! is a quirky, imaginative show for very young children. We Built This City, a “public construction extravaganza,” is an installation piece in which kids and families build and then destroy an entire city made out of thousands of empty cardboard boxes. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun! With any luck, you’ll get to see these shows someday at the State Theatre.

—Lian Farrer, Vice President for Education, State Theatre

The Festival of Imagination At Play

This winter we are proud to present the 4th annual Hub City Carnivale—a winter festival for the imagination at play. It’s a non-stop schedule of events and activities for kids from 1 to 100 with 67 events packed into 30 days from January 30-February 28, beginning with One-Man Star Wars Trilogy (1/30) and ending with three magical performances of Le Grand Cirque (2/27-28).

On February 5, don’t miss the chance catch a brilliant performance by Scrap Arts Music—an adrenaline-laced power-percussion performance rooted in street performance, jazz, and world music traditions. If you like Stomp, you will love Scrap Arts Music! A one-of-a-kind blend of intricate rhythms, athletic choreography, raw energy, and theatrical flair, the group performs on more than 140 invented instruments crafted from industrial scrap.

Joining the festival line-up comic genius Tomáš Kubínek (2/19) in his State Theatre premiere! A self-proclaimed “Certified Lunatic and Master of the Impossible,” his inspired fusion of clowning, acrobatics, music, magic, and absurdity will astonish and delight people of all ages.

Other festival highlights include the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra (2/14) in a special Valentine’s Day all-Tchaikovsky program; the very funny one-man stage show, My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy! (2/21); folk singer Ani DiFranco (2/2); a celebration of the music of THE WHO by local musician Glen Burtnik & Friends (2/13); and a special one-night only performance of the Broadway favorite, Jesus Christ Superstar (2/20).

Returning this year is State Theatre’s “Family Day on Presidents Day,” where you and your family can spend the whole day here. In addition to offering three performances of Fan Yang’s “Gazillion Bubble Show” Stage Spectacular (2/15), we invite everyone to participate in a variety of free activities, including face painting, balloon animals, and sing-a-longs, as well as a variety of workshops for kids and parents.Bring your friends and family, and join us in beating the winter blahs this February at Hub City Carnivale. For a complete Hub City Carnivale schedule including family day workshops and special happenings, visit www.StateTheatreNJ.org/HubCityCarnivale.

Hope to see you soon!

Wes Brustad
–President & CEO

Fireworks over New Brunswick for New Year's Eve!

We are happy to announce that there will be fireworks over New Brunswick on New Year's Eve this year! At midnight, the fireworks will be shot off the top of The Heldrich hotel across the street from the State Theatre and in the heart of downtown New Brunswick. This announcement comes after weeks of uncertainty (paperwork, city approval, etc). And for us at the State Theatre, it is a real treat, as we will be throwing our second annual New Year's Eve Party at The Heldrich hotel that night. Lots of food, dancing, live and silent auctions, and now fireworks at midnight! It is going to be a wonderful night and we have to say thank you to all of those involved in making this happen.

For more information on the State Theatre New Year's Eve Party at The Heldrich hotel, click here: http://www.statetheatrenj.org/new_year_eve_party

“Backstage Access” - From The Belly of The Beast Part 2

By Larry Dember, State Theatre Director of Production

Once upon a time a long long time ago, I lived in a town called Massapequa.

Many famous people have hailed from the land of the Pequas such as: Jerry Seinfeld (my sister was in Hebrew school car pool and graduated with him), Neil Diamond, the Baldwin’s (their Dad was my football coach/social studies teacher), Twisted Sister, Eliot Eastman (the Cars guitarist), the Baldinger Brothers (Pro football players) , Andre Eglevsky (ballet dancer), Carlo Gambino, John Gotti, Steve Guttenberg, Marvin Hamlisch, Ron Kovic (I played in a band with his brother Jack at the New York Times 4th of July release party for his brothers book, Born on the Fourth of July), Bob Nelson, Helen Slater (spent a couple of Thanksgivings with her at her cousin Hunt Bresky’s house), and of course, all three of the Stray Cats.

I was in a band with Lee (Leon Drucker) Rocker in high school but we kicked him out because he was not a great bass player and had a bad attitude (I hear things have not changed). James McDonnell, aka “Slim Jim Phantom” is the drummer for the Stray Cats and was in an original jazzy band that beat my band in the Nassau County finals of the battle of the bands. Great drummer. A founding member of that band was Brian Setzer. It was my pleasure to present him in concert last week here at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

When Brian was a young teen he would take guitar lessons at my buddy Ralph Agresta’s (nationally accomplished guitarist/songwriter/teacher/vocalist) music store. We all knew Brian was different and very, very skilled, even at 16. I remember going over his house one day and he had just come back from Brooklyn shopping for guitars and he had bought a Dan-Electro double neck bass and six string. Another week, he came into school with his hair dyed bright orange. Back then he was playing the hell out of Zeppelin, Queen, Bowie, and Deep Purple. He was a rock god on guitar. One day in our senior year I was sitting in the little theater at school watching auditions for the Senior Variety show and Brian took the stage with his band and sang “Communication Breakdown” and “Ziggy Stardust”. I was so blown away from the energy and talent exhibited. It is a feeling that I get whenever I see a real virtuoso. His band played the show and dressed like Kiss and rocked the house. In the next years, I had the pleasure of jamming with him at a party and some late night basement jams. He was doing a lot of hard rock and was putting together a punk band called Bloodless Pharaohs. Not my taste at all and we went our separate ways. Mine was the business side of music, his was the UK and reinventing Rockabilly, playing with Robert Plant, touring the world, selling millions of records and winning three out of 7 Grammy nominations.

It must be about 15 years since I saw Brian out at a trade show in California. Last week when I sat with him in his dressing room and we talked about old friends, girlfriends, and jams I told him how proud all of us non-celebrities from Massapequa are of him. He was very humble and gracious as always. You can see in his face that he has led a fun packed life, playing thousands of shows all over the world. It took all my power and restraint not to remind him my band Starfire beat his band in the Massapequa High School Battle of The Bands in 1977. So what he sold millions of records and won 3 Grammys. I didn’t want to rub that old wound in his face, especially before he took the stage for an amazing night of music to a packed house.

A Few Minutes with John Waters

Every holiday season we present a lot of the normal family fare such as The Nutcracker, musical acts that play Christmas songs, a feel good musical like Annie or Scrooge in Concert (a musical version of A Christmas Carol), but rarely do we present something well, you know, NOT for the kids. Well, this year, I am happy to announce we have broken that tradition. And with who/what you ask? With none other than cult filmmaker John Waters! His movies including Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and Pink Flamingos, his wacky sense of humor, and his campy personality, have cemented his staying power in Hollywood and helped earn him legions of fans across the globe. Now, I can go on and on about what he's actually "doing" at the State Theatre, but really wouldn't you like to hear it from the man himself? So, go ahead and take a few minutes to listen to this podcast (for Jersey Arts by NJN) with John Waters, the man with the pencil-thin mustache.

Click below for the John Waters Podcast: http://www.jerseyarts.com/podcast.asp

Kelly Skinner

–Director of Public Relations

State Theatre presents Free Program for College Students

Here at the State Theatre we present a variety of free programs for different ages as part of our mission to better serve and enrich the lives of the surrounding community. We do everything we can to make sure people know about these programs. So, with that said, below is some information from our Education department on a FREE program that we offer to college students. If you are a college student or if you know any, please read or pass this on.

Thank you for supporting the arts!

Kelly Skinner
–Director of Public Relations


Are you a college student? Do you like free food, entertainment, and social networking? Then be sure to check out Scientists Exploring the Arts, a unique program inspired by the relationship between performing arts and science. Although you may be wondering what these two seemingly different disciplines could possibly have in common, there are actually several elements that are essential to both: creativity, innovation, problem solving, teamwork, and process. As a way to celebrate and explore these similarities, the State Theatre has partnered with National Starch, LLC. to bring college students Scientists Exploring the Arts. “National Starch is excited to be co-sponsoring this unique event with the State Theatre. The pre-performance lectures and the shows have been outstanding and have provided a memorable evening for all,” commented Joseph Light, Head of Global Development, Customer Solutions & Product Innovation Groups for National Starch and State Theatre Trustee. "I like to think of it as left brain meets right brain...Who says the arts and sciences can't work together?!" added State Theatre President & CEO Wes Brustad.

The program is totally FREE and open to college students (both graduate and undergraduate) majoring in the one of the following: food science, molecular gastronomy, nutrition, chemistry, chemical engineering, statistics, environmental science, food sensory evaluation, material science, business (finance, sales), marketing, computer science, and communications. The program includes a ticket to the performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, a pre-performance "Exploration" with an arts educator, and a pre-performance dinner, where there will be opportunities for networking with National Starch employees and other students. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so apply early to reserve your spot! Contact Jennifer Cunha at 732-246-7469, ext. 545 or check out www.statetheatrenj.org/education/scientistsexploringarts.asp to guarantee your space in this incredible program.