Artist in Residence Program
Spring 2004 ~ CASEY KURTTI
SUNY Ulster is pleased to announce that the Spring 2004 Artist-in-Residence is Casey Kurtti.
Casey Kurtti
Photo by Michael Weisbrot
Casey Kurtti is an award-winning playwright and television movie writer. Two Against Time, which she co-wrote with Peter Nelson, is a television movie that aired on CBS in April 2002. The movie featured Marlo Thomas, winner of several Emmy awards.
Kurtti's other works include Girlfriend, an ABC television movie nominated for an Emmy, and MIA: Missing in America, an award-winning short film shown on the Public Broadcasting System. In addition, her plays Catholic School Girls, Children of War and Three Ways Home were produced off-Broadway in New York City, and she has written an adaptation of the latter for Columbia Pictures/Alan Pakula.
She also coordinates the Young Playwright's Festival each year at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie, which is run by her husband, Chris Silva.
As part of the Artist-in-Residence Program, Casey will be teaching a new course, Writing for Social Change. The class, code number HUM 226, will meet from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays starting January 22, 2004 on the Stone Ridge campus. Take a reading adventure through a world of powerful contemporary writing, including journalism, theater, comic books, novels, memoirs, and diaries. Develop an understanding of what shapes a writer's voice, allowing him or her to create work that can inspire social change.
This three-credit course is designed for beginning writers as well as writers well on their way. Classes will include visits from three guest artists: Academy Award winner actress/director Estelle Parsons, screenwriter/journalist Zachary Sklar, and writer/director Patrick Wadden from Arm-of-the-Sea Theater.
To register, call the Registrar's Office at 1-800-724-0833.
Enrollment is limited, so register early!
For more information, contact Jean Rose in the Office of Community
Relations at 845-687-5263, or visit our website: www.sunyulster.edu.
Some of the Press Releases for events featuring Casey Kurtti and guests are listed below.
SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE EXPLORES ROOTS OF WAR, INCLUDES MASKS, LARGE-SCALE PUPPETS, THEATRICAL IMAGES AND LIVE MUSIC, AT SUNY ULSTER ... On Friday, April 30, as part of SUNY Ulster's Artist-in-Residence program, Arm-of-the-Sea Theater will perform To Defy the Beast, a mask and puppet spectacle that combines striking theatrical images, a large-scale production and brass band roots music by Thomas Workman & the Big Sky Ensemble. The performance, accompanied by six musicians playing original songs, was inspired by Barbara Ehrenreich's book Blood Rites, an exploration into the roots of war. The performance is one night only, Friday, April 30, at 8 p.m. in the Quimby Theater on SUNY Ulster's Stone Ridge campus at 8 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $5.
To Defy the Beast continues Arm-of-the-Sea Theater's tradition of exploring contemporary themes through the ancient traditions of mask and puppet theater. The performance resembles an ancient Greek tragedy populated by larger-than-life-size mask characters, including goats, warriors, tigers, hunters, generals, prophets, mothers and sons. It is performed by a cast of 14 innovative performers, including actors, puppeteers and musicians. Some roles are performed by SUNY Ulster students.
The production was created by Arm-of-the-Sea directors Marlena Marallo and Patrick Wadden. The play is meant for adults and older children. It is not recommended for small children.
This performance is the third and final event in SUNY Ulster's spring semester residency by Casey Kurtti, award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Kurtti included the Arm-of-the-Sea performance as part of her SUNY Ulster residency because she wanted students exposed to the power of theater and she believes that theater is "transformational, not only for the actor, but for the audience."
More than half of the students in Kurtti's evening class, Writing for Social Change, have chosen to perform in the College's April 30 presentation of To Defy the Beast as their final project. Some students play soldiers while the others manipulate puppets. "My notion was that this residency would put you on the edge of your seat, at the edge of your mind. This is the residency's culminating event," said Kurtti.
For more information, contact the College's Office of Community Relations at 845: 687-5262 or e-mail events@sunyulster.edu.
ARM-OF-THE-SEA BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Arm-of-the-Sea has been creating and touring contemporary mask and puppet theater for over twenty years. The company is based in Saugerties and hosts the Esopus Creek Theater Festival each August in the Chorvas Waterfront Park there. The theater company is a not-for-profit and environmentally concerned organization. The company tours in a bus powered by bio-diesel (a fuel made from vegetable oil) and takes its shows to cultural centers, festivals and schools in the eastern half of the country. JOIN CASEY KURTTI, SPRING ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, AND SPECIAL GUEST, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER ACTRESS/DIRECTOR, ESTELLE PARSONS ... Join Ulster County Community College's Artist-in-Residence Casey Kurtti and her special guest Academy Award winner actress/director Estelle Parsons as they discuss how their work puts audiences on the edge of their seats and the edge of their minds, Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge Stone Ridge Campus. (The original date of Feb. 5 had to be changed at the last minute as Ms. Parsons will be filming an episode of the top-rated NBC comedy Frasier in California.)
Estelle Parsons
Estelle Parsons' numerous film credits include Boys on the Side, Dick Tracy, and I Never Sang for My Father. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Bonnie and Clyde and was nominated for Rachel, Rachel.
Her theater experience is formidable. She debuted on Broadwy in Happy Hunting and followed with The Pirates of Penzance, The Norman Conquests, and And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little. As director of Joseph Papp's Shakespeare on Broadway project, she presented Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and As You Like It. She also has had extensive television roles, including recurring roles on Roseanne and All in the Family. Parsons has taught at Yale, Columbia, Sarah Lawrence and Bennington. She is a member of the Actors Studio.
Casey Kurtti is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who lives in Stone Ridge. Her television movies include Two Against Time (CBS) featuring Marlo Thomas, Emmy-nominated Girlfriend (ABC), and MIA: Missing in America (PBS), an award-winning short film. Her plays, including Catholic School Girls, Three Ways Home, and Children of War, have been produced off-Broadway and regionally with performers such as Olympia Dukakis, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Mary McDonnell. Kurtti has received the Arthur Foundation Grant and the Berilla Kerr Foundation Grant in recognition of her writing.
Suggested donation: $5 For more information, contact the College's Office of Community Relations at 845: 687-5263.
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PRESENTATIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT SUNY ULSTER ... Casey Kurtti, award-winning playwright and screenwriter, takes on the role of Artist-in-Residence at Ulster County Community College for the Spring 2004 Semester. As part of her residency, she will host a series of evening presentations designed to develop an understanding of what enables a writer to create work that can inspire social change.
The evening sessions will feature guest artists from throughout the Hudson Valley. The schedule is as follows:
- March 4, Thursday - Special Guest screenwriter/journalist Zachary Sklar - Join Kurtti and Zachary Sklar, co-writer with Oliver Stone of the 1991 film JFK, as they discuss fact and fiction in film. Begins at 7 p.m. in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge.
- March 11, Thursday - Special Guest actress/director Estelle Parsons - Join Kurtti and Academy Award winning actress/director Estelle Parsons as they discuss how their work puts audiences on the edge of their seats and the edge of their minds. Begins at 7 p.m. in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge.
Estelle Parsons
- April 30, Friday - Arm-of-the-Sea Theater presents To Defy the Beast - This mask and puppet spectacle is a potent fusion of theatrical image and brass band roots music inspired by Barbara Ehrenreich's book Blood Rites, an exploration into the roots of war. Created by Arm-of-the-Sea directors Marlena Marallo and Patrick Wadden, it features music by Thomas Workman & the Big Sky Ensemble. The play is enacted by a cast of fourteen performers and is not recommended for small children. Arm-of-the-Sea has been creating and touring contemporary mask & puppet theater for over twenty years. The company is based in Ulster County and hosts the Esopus Creek Theater Festival each August in Saugerties. Begins at 8 p.m. in the Quimby Theater.
Arm-of-the-Sea Theater
All the presentations are held on SUNY Ulster's Stone Ridge campus. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5 per person to support arts programming at SUNY Ulster. For more information, contact Jean Rose, Coordinator of Special Events, at 800: 724-0833, extension 5263 or e-mail rosej@sunyulster.edu
Kurtti's residency also includes a three-credit class titled Writing for Social Change. Students in the course are studying powerful contemporary writing, including journalism, theater, comic books, novels, memoirs, and diaries. Through writing exercises, they will explore their own lives, passions, thoughts, ideas, and dreams. These exercises will form a text that will be used for the student's final presentation, either a short comic book, article/essay, ten-minute play/screenplay, investigative field trip, or experience participating with the Arm-of-the-Sea Theater production.
Casey Kurtti
Photo by Michael Weisbrot
BIOGRAPHY: Casey Kurtti is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who lives in Stone Ridge. Her television movies include Two Against Time (CBS) featuring Marlo Thomas, Emmy-nominated Girlfriend (ABC), and MIA: Missing in America (PBS), an award-winning short film. Her plays, including Catholic School Girls, Three Ways Home, and Children of War, have been produced off-Broadway and regionally with performers such as Olympia Dukakis, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Mary McDonnell. Kurtti has received the Arthur Foundation Grant and the Berilla Kerr Foundation Grant in recognition of her writing.
For more information contact:
The Office of Community Relations at 845: 687-5262
or e-mail Jean Rose,
Coordinator of Special Events/Community Relations
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