International Writers Festival
November 11 at 2pm in Rosendale
Got a hankering for world travel? Look no further than the Rosendale Theatre’s International Writers Festival, your one-way ticket to a panoply of exemplary and diverse voices spanning the globe from Belarus to the Bahamas and many others in between. The festival is fourth in the Prosendale Series, all literary in nature, this one a melange of literary flavors from around the world. Attune your ears to the words, and works, of Jai Chakrabarti (India); Laura Shaine Cunningham (Belarus); Gwen Namainga Jones (Zambia); Chiu Yin (China); Margarita Meyendorff (Russia/Estonia); and Christopher Rabley (the Bahamas, UK). Passport not required.
“Sweet and Sad”
Through November 12 in Woodstock
Performing Arts of Woodstock, Woodstock’s oldest theater group, is opening its 60th season with Richard Nelson’s “Sweet and Sad” at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center. The play is a follow-up to “That Hopey Changey Thing,” which chronicles the Apple family of Rhinebeck on election night in 2010. In “Sweet and Sad,” the Apples gather on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The events of that day hover just out of sight in this family drama but haunt the proceedings. Ellen Honig directs.
Little Fugitive
November 18 in Millerton
Among film buffs, Ruth Orkin and Morris Engel are known for breaking new ground in both still and moving pictures. This fall, a rare screening of the 1953 classic Little Fugitive (codirected by the iconic duo) and the documentary Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life (directed by Mary Engel, the artists’ daughter) will come to life at The Moviehouse in Millerton, followed by a Q&A with Engel—about her parents’ life, respective creative process, and enduring impact of their work. A reception will follow, at Mad Rose Gallery, where the work of both will be on display through December 31.
“Throwing Stones”
November 19 at Paramount Hudson Valley
It’s New Year’s Eve in Wisconsin, and Roz finds herself all alone in the “Ice Palace”—a curling club in her hometown. While preparing for the upcoming bonspiel, in walks Victor (with whom she once shared a passion for myriad things including one another). As the clock ticks toward midnight, the protagonists must reexamine the icy rift between them and decide if a thaw lies ahead. In a staged reading of this new play at Paramount Hudson Valley, Kurt Rhoads and Nance Williamson—the local husband-and-wife team who have performed together 72 times over 40 years—must navigate slippery topics including love, betrayal, Shakespeare, and curling.
Cold Spring Dance
November 19 at 3pm in Cold Spring
Located at the intersection of dance, art history, and nature, the program will feature dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem, among others, with choreography by Artistic Director Cally Kordaris at the Cold Spring Dance Mountaintop Gardens and Indoor Performance Space. The locale—former home of the late author, architect, engineer, and Columbia University professor Mario Salvadori—stands as testament to the nonprofit’s vision: to engage students by incorporating art and creativity in their everyday lives.
Guided Meditation and Conversation with Dan Harris
November 19 at Troutbeck
On the heels of a panic attack while working as an on-air journalist, Harris leaned into mindfulness—a highly sought-after skill in today’s ever-turbulent world. Join the creator of the “Ten Percent Happier” podcast and cocreator of an app of the same name for an intimate talk and introduction to his thinking followed by a guided meditation at Troutbeck. All levels, age 14-plus, are welcome.
Peter Biskind
November 19 at Spencertown Academy Arts Center
Author Peter Biskind and historian David Nasaw join forces for a dialogue about the ebb and flow of television—in its various guises, formats, and utter domination of Americans’ leisure time. Spencertown Academy Arts Center, in collaboration with the Chatham Bookstore, celebrates Biskind’s new book, Pandora’s Box: How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV.
Buke & Gase Documentary Screening
November 20 at the Orpheum Theater
At the height of the pandemic, when tours were canceled and live music went silent, Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez of Buke & Gase refused to stay silent. Instead, they took to the stage at an eerily empty Basilica Hudson for a November 2020 live performance chronicled in a new documentary. Buke & Gase, directed by Steven Pierce, is a smart film that allows the artists to showcase what Stereogum calls, “their unique approach to music, playing dynamic oddball compositions on homemade instruments.” Tickets to the Orpheum Theater screening—part of Upstate Films’ Sonic Wave series—include a pre-film acoustic set by Arone Dyer and a post-film Q&A with musician Majel Connery.
This article appears in November 2023.
