Ira Gewanter is an Orioles fan - and an observant Jew - and he confesses what happens when loyalties collide; Jen Michalski talks about her short story collection, From Here; Judah Adashi previews Peabody’s upcoming Faculty Recital Series; a preview of Gardner McKay’s Sea Marks at Performance Workshop Theatre; and a Mobtown Studios B-Side Session with the rock band DRGN King
This is a story about a man of two faiths. Ira Gewanter is an observant Jew. He’s also a die-hard Orioles fan. Normally, Ira has no problem navigating these loyalties, but once in a while he finds himself deeply conflicted. The Stoop storytelling series recently hosted an event at Bolton Street Synagogue, a night of stories under the theme: It’s Complicated – The Joys and Oys of Contemporary Jewish Life, and when Ira took the stage, he told this tale.
This story takes us to Northeast Baltimore, where Performance Workshop Theatre is staging a production of Sea Marks, a two-actor play written by Gardner McKay. The Signal’s Aaron Henkin dropped in at a recent rehearsal, and talked with director Marlyn G. Robinson and actors Marc Horwitz and Katherine Lyons.
Writer Jen Michalski made some waves iafter the release of her debut novel, The Tide King. In 2013, she was named one of "50 Women to Watch" by the Baltimore Sun and was named "Best Writer" by Baltimore Magazine. She joins producer Lisa Morgan to talk about her latest book, From Here.
At most schools, the idea of a ‘teacher talent night’ is probably not that inspiring. That is, unless the school is the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore’s renowned music conservatory kicks off its annual Sylvia Adalman Faculty Recital Series on September 30th, and composer (and Peabody faculty member) Judah Adashi share some highlights with the Signal’s Aaron Henkin. By the way, you can hear a beautiful recording of Adashi's composition, "My Heart Comes Undone," HERE.
Baltimore’s music-recording laboratory, Mobtown Studios, has been doing something a little different lately. Mobtown’s ‘B-Side Sessions’ are music recording sessions, but they’re also video sessions, photo sessions, and interview sessions. A band drops in to the studio for a day, and the players come out with something like a multimedia portrait of themselves as musicians. A complete archive of the B-Side Sessions is online HERE. We also occasionally share selections from the archive here on The Signal. One recent “B-Side” profiled drummer Steve Montenegro, bassist Joe Baldacci, and singer & guitarist Dominic Angelella of the Philadelphia-based rock band, DRGN King. Here’s an excerpt from the session.
