On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, Synetic Theater will host a 1950’s Las Vegas stylized benefit in Crystal City. Centering on a special performance of Much Ado About Nothing, the event will kick off with pre-show savories and sips and close with a post-show champagne and dessert reception with the artists at the Crystal City Marriott.
Funds raised will help support Synetic Theater’s mission to redefine theatre, invest in artists’ growth and continue to create unforgettable visceral experiences in all of their productions. Winning 25 Helen Hayes Awards with 94 nominations since 2002, Synetic Theater was recently named one of the top 13 innovative physical theatre companies in the world by Backstage.com.
The event is co-chaired by longtime Synetic supporters and Board Members Angela Fox (Chair) and Allison Foster. Additional committee members include Tricia Paoletta, Becky Dobbins, Tacy Telego, Christy Pino, Julianna Mahley, Marcus Brown, Alan Savada, Sue and Amnon Golan, Karina and Keith Mosser, John and Meg Hauge, Patrick Brown, Timothy Carlton, Keith and Karina Mosser, and Cal Shintani.
Tickets for the benefit are $250 and will go on sale on January 1, 2015.
The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will present its seventh annual “Nowruz: A Persian New Year Celebration” free family festival Saturday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Throughout the day, visitors of all ages can learn, play and feast at a celebration encompassing both museums to mark Nowruz, the beginning of the new year of 1394 in Iran, Afghanistan and many other countries, coinciding with the first day of spring.
At 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., visitors can relive the Iranian music scene of the 1960s and 1970s with updated versions of classic songs made famous by the likes of Googoosh, Hayedeh, Pari Zangeneh and Parva, along with mesmerizing bandari-beat tunes by Zia Atabi. The band Mitra Sumara, based in New York, features Iranian American vocalist Yvette Perez (pictured below), and re-energizes Persian pop with influences ranging from salsa and disco to Nigeria’s Fela Kuti and Middle Eastern rhythms.Visitors will be able to hear storyteller Xanthe Gresham weave tales from Persian literary classics, learn about the Freer and Sackler’s rich collection of 19th-century Persian photographs, discover the meaning of colorful “Haft Sin” table displays and then make their own, watch a master calligrapher at work and dress up in traditional costumes for photos recreating a Persian painting. Other activities include “fire” jumping for good luck in the new year, backgammon and chess matches, face painting and a hands-on workshop in the ImaginAsiaclassroom for families to make crowns and shields inspired by the Shahnama (Book of kings). Docents will elaborate on important works in the exhibitions “Nasta’liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy” and “Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran” to offer glimpses of Iran’s rich artistic traditions.
Persian literature enthusiasts can enjoy book-signing sessions at the Sackler store for Two Parrots–a children’s book adapted from the poet Rumi’s celebrated work–signed by illustrator Rashin from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies, signed by author Najmieh Batmanglij from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Persian cuisine by Moby Dick and thematic greeting cards will be available for purchase.
The annual event, celebrated in advance of the true holiday March 21, regularly draws crowds of 10,000 visitors, and is made possible by a gift from Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar.
On March 19, the new year celebration will continue with a free concert by Grammy-nominated artists Kayhan Kalhor and Shujaat Khan. In “Ghazal: Indian and Persian Improvisations,” the musicians will reunite for the first time in more than 10 years to perform their unique blend of Indian and Persian classical music.
The annual Nowruz lecture will take place March 29, co-sponsored with the Foundation for Iranian Studies. This year’s distinguished speaker will be Azar Nafisi, the best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I’ve Been Silent About. In the lecture, Nafisi will discuss her latest work, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books.
FEATURED COLLECTIONS
On view at the Sackler until May 3, “Nasta’liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy” is the first exhibition to focus on one of the most aesthetically refined forms of Persian culture developed during the 14th-16th centuries: nasta’liq, a type of calligraphy so beautiful that for the first time the expressive form of the words eclipsed their meaning. Also on view will be “Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran” featuring one of the largest collections of luxury metalwork from ancient Iran. In the Freer Gallery, visitors can enjoy one of the finest holdings of Islamic art in the United States, with particular strengths in ceramics and illustrated manuscripts.
Iranian photographs from the Freer and Sackler Archives’ collection of more than 1,100 original 19th-century prints and glass-plate negatives by Antonin Sevruguin and other Persian photographers will screen for visitors throughout the day. The collection–the largest public holdings of Sevruguin’s photographs outside Iran–was recently digitized and cataloged in its entirety.
What: Secret Monkey Social Club, the brainchild of Lukas B. Smith (currently of Dram & Grain and Jack Rose Dining Saloon, formerly beverage director of Daikaya) and Shayna Blass (actress, singer and dancer, appearing in Passion Play currently at Forum Theater), aims to pay homage to the cabarets of decades past with a lounge environment full of drinks and jazz.
When: Monday, March 23, 2015
7:30 p.m.
Where: Dolcezza Gelato Factory & Coffee Lab, 550 Penn St. NE, Washington DC 20002
Details: Guests will enjoy six new punches prepared by Smith at $9 per pour, and cabaret performances lead by Blass throughout the night. Local talent Navid “Navi” Azeez will provide an opening performance as well. This event is 21+, and there is no door charge.
The Drinks: Smith will be joined behind the bar by Dan Searing, co-owner of Room 11 and author of “The Punch Bowl.” Searing will prepare a punch and help host the festivities.
The following is a portion of Smith’s menu thus far:
Soirée Not Sorry
Boyd & Blair
Dolin Blanc
Suze
Turmeric
Toasted Mustard Seed
Lemon
Punch a la Romaine (adapted from Tom Bullock’s “The Ideal Bartender”)
Mt. Gay Rum
Champagne
Oleo d’Orange
Myrrh-infused Nitro Meringue
The Jekyll and Lindbergh
Avocado-washed Aviation Gin
Scorched Lime Oleo
Génépi Espuma
Kampot Pepper
A Song of Experience
Angel’s Envy Bourbon
Cynar
Alvear Montilla
Smoked Pistachio Orgeat
Darjeeling
Lime
FAS Exclusive Exhibit “Paper Art & Cherry Blossoms” by VOYO WOO
Friday, March 27th | 8pm
The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown 3100 South Street NW, Washington DC
Inspired by Cherry Blossoms, local artist VOYO WOO brings contemporary designs to life at her solo exhibition with Fine Art Series. Turning paper into a whole new level of sculpture, her three-dimensional pieces create illusions, evoke emotions and memories.
Voyo Woo is a paper-cutting artist based in Washington D.C. Voyo hand-draws and cuts every piece of her artwork. With each piece she creates her intention is to make the kind of art that viewers can interact with or be emotionally involved with.
http://artsoiree.com/events/fas-exclusive-exhibit-paper-art-cherry-blossom-by-voyo-woo/
Throughout the spring, guests can learn about other well-known expressions of Japanese culture in “Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan”–such as Zen Buddhism, tea drinking and ink painting, which emerged in the 12th-16th centuries. Also on view will be “Oribe Ware: Color and Pattern Come to Japanese Ceramics,” an exhibition on the renowned style that introduced vivid pattern and color to Japanese ceramics in 1605. In addition, cherry blossom enthusiasts anywhere in the world can share the splendor of the season digitally with a new suite of free e-cards featuring artworks from the Freer and Sackler collections, available online.
Visit asia.si.edu/
The Shakespeare Theatre Company presents Women of Will: An Evening with Tina Packer, featuring leading Shakespearean actor/director/dramaturg Tina Packer in a performance that deconstructs and conjures Shakespeare’s famous female characters. This one-night-only event will play the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th Street NW) on Wednesday, April 8, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The evening will include a special post-show reception launching her new book, Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays.
Shakespeare’s creative knowledge and sense of a larger spiritual good come together in his late plays, making clear that when women and men are equal in status and sexual passion, they can—and do—change the world. Founder of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, Tina Packer celebrates the release of her long-awaited bookWomen of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays with a special engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company that encompasses her more than 40 years of experience in acting and directing the Bard. The evening begins with excerpts from Packer’s performance piece, Women of Will, which explores Shakespeare’s imagination through his female characters, uncovering a theme and progression within the women’s voices. Women of Will also features actor Nigel Gore and is directed by Eric Tucker (Bedlam Theater Artistic Director).
Following the performance, Packer will sign copies of Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays in a post-show reception in the Lansburgh Theatre Lobby. This new book follows Shakespeare’s development from youth to enlightened maturity and charts the playwright’s evolution across the years through his increasingly empathetic and nuanced portrayal of his female characters. Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays is available in bookstores starting April 7, 2015.
Tickets for this special event are now on sale. To purchase tickets or learn more, patrons can call the Box Office at 202.547.122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org/
On Friday, April 10, 2015, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), under the gracious patronage of His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy and Mrs. Laura Denise Bisogniero along with NMWA’s Board of Trustees, will celebrate its Annual Spring Gala in celebration of the special exhibition Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea.
Upon arrival, guests will have the opportunity to view Picturing Mary, which explores the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary as well as the social and sacred functions her image has served through time. This landmark exhibition organized by NMWA brings together more than 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era works from the Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery and other museums, churches and private collections in Europe and the United States.
The annual black-tie gala will continue with cocktails in the galleries and an exciting auction followed by dinner and dancing in the elegant Great Hall. The 2015 Gala Auction Chairs are Jacqui Michel, Frances Usher and Debra Latiolais.
WHEN
Friday, April 10, 2015
Cocktails and Silent Auction: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner and Dancing: 8 p.m. to midnight
WHERE
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Valet parking available
DETAILS
The spring gala is the museum’s largest annual fundraising event attended by more than 400 luminaries from Washington’s diplomatic, governmental and social communities. Proceeds from the Spring Gala support the museum’s exhibitions, educational programming and the groundbreaking exhibition Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea.
TICKETS
Individuals $650; Gala Host Committee, Individuals $1,000 and Couples $1,500 (both include premium seating and recognition in the program); Sponsored Tables $10,000 and up
On Friday, April 10, 2015, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), will celebrate its Annual Spring Gala chaired by Bertha Soto Braddock and Janice Obuchowski. Under the gracious patronage of His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy, Claudio Bisogniero and Mrs. Laura Denise Bisogniero along with NMWA’s Board of Trustees, the event celebrates the special exhibition Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea.
Upon arrival, guests will have the opportunity to view Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, which explores the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary as well as the social and sacred functions her image has served through time. This landmark exhibition organized by NMWA brings together more than 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era works from the Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery and other museums, churches and private collections in Europe and the United States.
The annual black-tie gala will continue with cocktails in the galleries and an exciting auction followed by dinner and dancing in the elegant Great Hall. The 2015 Gala Auction Chairs are Jacqui Michel, Frances Usher and Debra Latiolais.
WHEN:
Friday, April 10, 2015
Cocktails and Silent Auction: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner and Dancing: 8:30 p.m. to midnight
WHERE:
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Valet parking available
DETAILS:
The spring gala is the museum’s largest annual fundraising event attended by more than 400 luminaries from Washington’s diplomatic, governmental and social communities. Proceeds from the Spring Gala support the museum’s exhibitions, educational programming and the groundbreaking exhibition Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea.
TICKETS:
Individuals $650; Gala Host Committee, Individuals $1,000 and Couples $1,500 (both include premium seating and recognition in the program);
