With the long weekend ahead, the Hudson Valley is buzzing with things to do this week, from a stand-up show by Ilana Glazer to O+ Festival in Kingston.
“Right Before I Go” at the Woodstock Playhouse | October 5-6
Written by and starring Stan Zimmerman (“Gilmore Girls,” “The Golden Girls,” “Roseanne”), the new play “Right Before I Go” centers on suicide awareness, focusing on the struggles of people from all walks of life who have died from suicide. The story, which will be staged at the Woodstock Playhouse for two nights only, brings to life the last words of letters written by individuals who were lost to suicide; included are texts by celebrities, veterans, children, and those identifying as LGBTQ who experienced a range of mental health calamities, as well as those who have survived suicide attempts. Also starring are Virginia Madsen and Zimmerman’s fellow “Gilmore Girls” actors Shelly Cole and Nick Holmes.
Ilana Glazer at City Winery 10/6
Writer, director, producer, actor, and comedian Ilana Glazer will stop by City Winery Hudson Valley in Montgomery on Thursday, October 6 for an evening of stand-up. Best known as co-creator and co-star of the acclaimed sitcom “Broad City,” Glazer has also starred in the films Rough Night and False Positive as well as the Apple+ TV show “The Afterparty.” Her standup style, best previewed in the 2020 Netflix comedy special, “The Planet is Burning,” brings together a frank and funny exploration of themes like sex, love, cohabitation, sexual identity, and homophobia with enlightened moments of physical comedy. $30.
Kingston O+ Festival | October 7-9
Among this year’s bands and solo acts at Kingston’s returning O+ Festival are Mercury Rev, Kimbra, Louis Prima and the Witnesses, Mirah, Bitch, Tsunami Bomb, Morgan O’Kane, Chinua Hawk Music, Adult Mom, Joey Eppard, Miles Francis, Roxiny, Sam Kogon, Denitia, and many more. In sum, over 40 bands will perform at various spaces around the Ulster County seat during the festival this year. A full schedule of musical performers, comedians, artists, literary salon participants, and wellness practitioners is viewable online. $30-$60.
Field + Supply Fall MRKT at Hutton Brickyards | October 7–9
Founded in 2014 by interior designer Brad Ford, this curated makers’ market is back in-person at Hutton Brickyards in Kingston. Over 200 hand-picked vendors will be at the pet- and kid-friendly modern take on an arts and crafts fair. Smaller items including essential oil room sprays from Gestures and soaps from J. M. Generals will be available. Found My Animal will be selling its bespoke dog collars. Splurge on exquisite knives from Jay Morgan Handcraft, furniture from Sawkille Co., and sensuous ceramics from M Quan Studio. Shoppers can snack on culinary creations, sip craft cocktails, and browse to live music throughout the weekend.
“The Lifespan of a Fact” at Shadowland Stages | October 7–23
This one is for the media nerds out there. Based on a true story, it tracks the interpersonal dynamics between a writer loose with the truth and a fact checker with the bit in his teeth. A sinking literary magazine hopes an article by prominent essayist John D’Agata will changes its fortunes. Fresh out of Harvard, Jim Fingal is assigned to fact check the piece. When not everything checks out, Fingal and D’Agata go head to head as hard facts battle against emotional truths in a high-stakes and hilarious verbal showdown. “The Lifespan of a Fact” will be staged at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville October 7-23.
Minibeast | October 8
Based in New England, the rocking, experimental Minibeast is led by Peter Prescott, a founding member of the influential Boston postpunk bands Mission of Burma, the Volcano Suns, and Kustomized. “We greatly accept influences from Fela Kuti, Can, and the Stooges,” reads the trio’s Bandcamp bio, while NPR’s #NowPlaying described the group’s 2022 debut album, On Ice, as “an unpredictable sonic swirl that evokes peak-level krautrock like Amon Düül II more than any algorithmic post-rock.” Minibeast mauls Tubby’s in Kingston with Telescoping opening at 7pm. $10.
Lucid Dreaming Minigolf | October 8 at O+ Festival; October 29 at Wassaic Project.
Our pick for most fun event this fall. A roaming, existential, and artful putt-putt experience, Lucid Dream Minigolf aims to spark a sense of delight and playfulness creating an immersive storytelling experience that uses the medium of minigolf as performance theater and interactive narrative. Follow along with the story of the Swamp Monster—a bioluminescent pet alligator flushed down the toilet by a neglectful owner in Manhattan who then swam their way up the Hudson in search of refuge—as you play the course.
“Man Saves Shark” at Garage Gallery | October 8–30
Beacon-based sculptor Emil Alzamora has achieved international renown exploring the boundaries and meaning of the human form in his work. His sculptures of the human form are beautiful grotesques that reveal hidden meanings in their distortion. “Man Saves Shark” is Alzamora’s first foray into the intersection of humans and the animal kingdom—and we’re very much here for it. He’s made sharks cuddly. The exhibit’s centerpiece at Beacon’s Garage Gallery, Man Saves Shark, is as sensual a depiction of two beings as Rodin’s The Kiss.
“Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros” at EMPAC | October 9
Globally influential Kingston composer Pauline Oliveros passed away in 2016, but her legacy continues to reverberate through the galaxy. How appropriate for EMPAC to host this special preview of Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros, director Daniel Weintraub’s new feature-length documentary on the experimental icon, given that she was a long-time faculty member at the facility on RPI’s Troy campus. The film combines rare archival footage with intimate interviews that illuminate Oliveros’s radical experiments with sound, technology, and philosophy that define her life of listening. A Q&A with Daniel Weintraub and Oliveros’s partner IONE will follow the screening.
Open Studio Hudson | October 8-9
Open Studio Hudson (OSH) returns for its third year October 8-9 from 11am to 4pm. The roster of more than 40 participating artists includes previous Chronogram cover artists Pauline Decarmo, Catalina Viejo, and Sita Gomez, plus others like painter David Konigsberg, photographer and gallerist Robin Rice, and sculptor Jeremy Bullis. The self-guided tour includes 32 stops throughout the city of Hudson. Hudson Hall and the Flow Chart Foundation are new destinations this year, offering much-needed additional gallery space to exhibit artists’ works.
This article appears in October 2022.
