When I Couldn’t Go to Stage Time and Wine 82…

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The title was meant to be a fill-in-the-blank activity. If anyone wants to send me a brief thought about what they did when they couldn’t go to Red Room’s Stage Time and Wine, send me an email at editor.redroom@gmail.com. For now, I will share what I did.

The day before, Friday September 16, was a beautiful day. The kind of day where temperatures were comfortable and the skies were a fresh-scrubbed blue with stunning cloud displays. I took my 6-year-old son to the Taiwan Puppet Theatre Museum near Dadaocheng Wharf and watched him be enthralled by the magic of the puppets on display. I sat down, smiling as he played with the demo puppets and made up stories about 19th-century puppets and masks.

Later that evening, I joined Ruth Giordano and an intimate crowd of new friends for an evening of R4 ReadAloud. We were settling in for an evening of wonderful words, ready to donate to the Playing For Change Foundation. It was setting up to be an evening of collaboration, conversation, and conviviality, when suddenly, a TAF security guard crossed the threshold. He asked for us to pack up and leave the venue because of the coming of Typhoon Malakas. It warmed my heart to see his concern for our safety.

Even though Typhoon Malakas ended up being fairly gentle, at least by my standards (I hail from east coast US, no stranger to hurricanes/typhoons), Stage Time and Wine was cancelled, perhaps for the first time in its 7 years. However, there was merriment in the Zahar household. My son took me on forays into his imagination, and I realized how much of a world-builder he is. My son has been creating his own animals, showing me bits and pieces through his drawings and answers to my questions. He showed me his prodigious memory by quoting to me lines from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder one, of course!). He sang to me, we read together, and colored in our coloring books.
stj-sept-16-1

So, in a way, I did have my own version of Stage Time and Wine, courtesy of my beautiful son. I even had a glass of wine to celebrate! I celebrated my son’s imagination and his boundless love and my return to my creative roots. I emerged from Typhoon Malakas feeling rejuvenated and ready to jump into creative work once again!

By Whitney Zahar
Red Room Scribe

The Word from R4, September 2016

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Friday 09/02 at Red Room @ TAF, R4 presented their latest production: “The Most Dangerous Game,” originally written by American author Richard Connell in 1924 and adapted since then for stage, screen and television.

This incarnation was read aloud by Pat Woods and Paul Batt, supported by recorded musical selections by Bernard Hermann, Scarlatti, Britten and others. Live sound effects enhanced the audience members’ experience.

In addition to portraying the characters of the evil General Zaroff and his hulking savage lackey, Mr. Batt energetically produced sound effects using his voice and ordinary household items.

Mr. Woods delivered an impressive performance- portraying the main character as well taking on the responsibility of Narrator. Mr. Woods, a native of the UK, aptly read the main character’s lines in an New York accent and switched back into his own way of speaking in order to narrate the story.

The Most Dangerous Game

The evening was rounded out by members of Taipei Improv. They invited the audience to play some dangerous games of improvisation before and after the show. In addition, Karen Farley of KP Kitchen provided a dangerously delicious cake that looked like a checkerboard, complete with gummy bear game pieces.

Many thanks to the Red Room Volunteers who made it all possible.

Red Room RadIo Redux is also announcing an upcoming performance at TAF October 21
Three by Poe: Two stories and a narrative poem by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe.

“The Black Cat”
In this study of the psychology of moral disintegration through alcoholism, a murderer carefully conceals his crime and believes himself unassailable. Eventually, he breaks down and reveals himself, impelled by a nagging reminder of his unforgivable sin.

“The Raven”
Easily Poe’s best-known poem, it tells of the mysterious visit of a raven to a grieving lover. The raven further instigates distress with its constant repetition of the word “nevermore”. The poem makes use of a number of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.

“The Tell-Tale Heart”
An unnamed narrator endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity, while describing a murder he committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy “vulture-eye”, as the narrator calls it. The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately the narrator’s guilt manifests itself in the form of the sound—possibly hallucinatory—of the heart of the victim still beating under the floorboards.

In the Red Room Radio Redux tradition, these Three by Poe will be read aloud and accompanied by live sound effects generated using ordinary household objects. Background music will further enhance the experience for the listening audience. In one special instance, during the reading of “The Raven,” the experience will be further enhanced by a painter rendering an illustration as the poem is read aloud.

by Ruth Giordano
Producer, Director, Red Room Radio Redux

Stage Time and Juice: Saffron and Playing for Change!

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Stage Time and Juice passed its 3-year mark over the summer. Anticipating that our audience would thin out as people headed off on their separate vacations, we decided to put together a special treat for those who remained in the city. Thus, our Stage Time and Juice XVII: Saffron Summer was born!

Stage Time & Juice 18

Taipei City Playgroup mom, Jaya, immediately volunteered her husband’s restaurant’s services in providing some authentic Indian treats. Red Room mother, Roma, offered to lead us in drawing some chalk rangoli on the passageway. Priya Lalwani Purswaney, the newest addition to the Stage Time and Juice creative team, managed to snag the Dubey siblings, Awantika and Akash. The well-seasoned Dubeys introduced the art of kathak dancing accompanied by tabla percussion to our family audience. It was engaging, intimate, and of course had the most special element of Stage Time and Juice, being that everyone gets a front row seat!

STJ photo by Kenneth-Hu

STJ photo by Kenneth-Hu

As always, the Juice open-mic performers came out in full force, demonstrating techniques that they had developed in front of us over the years. Jaya turned to me at the end of the show, quite astonished. It was the first time she had come to Juice, and she felt that perhaps by attending regularly, this might just be the proper environment to coax something out of her stage-shy son as well?

September was our Playing For Change Fundraising month. We have held this event three times already, but this year we decided we would attempt to better our donation from last year of US$100. US$100, from Playing For Change’s perspective, is not a trifling amount: it can pay for 2 months of music classes for 4 children in Nepal. But our team decided that we would try to shoot for the NT10,000 mark this time, or about US $320.

In previous years, we had depended on the children and sometimes adults to come out and perform. We decided that we would emphasize this gesture in a fun way by placing a guitar case in front of the stage, and allowing the audience to show their support both for the performers and the cause by tossing change into the guitar case. All proceeds went towards The Playing For Change Foundation.

Volunteer Sue DeSimone happily invited some professional musicians to attend the show in order to introduce the Juicers to different kinds of music, namely rock, blues, rockabilly, and jazz. In the spirit of the Playing For Change organization, the event raised money for music education, but also provided some musical education content of its own!

Finally, we asked our community sponsors to donate their own products and services to our raffle. There was quite a dizzying and unusual array of prizes, but it impressively showcased the surprising range of projects that our larger community is involved in!

Many things did not go as expected in both events. In July, the TAF decided to fumigate the compound that day. As agreed upon, they sprayed around our area only in the morning and moved on to other places in the enormous complex, but that did not stop the guards at the gate from informing our guests that they would probably die if they attended our event! In September, the band riled up the audience so much that they were unable to return to their usual quiet attentiveness for the children’s fundraising segment. This was particularly painful to us as organizers, because the nurturing aspect of our open-mic segment is what is particularly special and precious about our program.
On a more positive, and unexpected note, we raised US$580 (NT18,186) to donate to the Playing For Change Foundation! According to their website, this amount can support A Playing For Change Foundation teacher in Africa for almost half a year. For some children, this teacher is the only formal schooling they receive.

Katrina, one of the original founders of Juice who was visiting with her family from New Zealand, remarked to me that she was impressed by how far the “regular” open-mic performers have progressed. She was happy to see some of the children she had taught since they were very small expressing themselves up on the stage in ways she had not imagined.

Running Juice has its successes and failures every time. It will always be unpredictable, given the open format of the show. But if you were to plot our results over time against the confidence and creativity of the performers, much as one does when tracking financial investments, you see that the curve is definitely heading upwards. It’s good to remind ourselves that we have done something positive and important here, and it’s a little more than just having fun.

To join and follow the progress of Stage Time and Juice, check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/redroomjuice/

Carol Yao
Coordinator, Stage Time and Juice

Words from the editor, October 2016

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Scribe’s Musings: Welcome one and all to this month’s issue of Red Room E-news. We have had a busy fall so far, as well as some unexpected surprises from Mother Nature. We can’t wait to share the stories of what we’ve been up to!

For the first time in our seven-year history, September’s installment of Stage Time and Wine was cancelled, due to Typhoon Malakas. In addition, the small, but spirited, gathering of R4’s monthly ReadAloud was advised quite gently by a TAF security guard to pack up and head out before the storm hit.

I found myself thinking about the way we look at disasters. How they galvanize a community, and sometimes the world, cannot be denied. Sometimes, I wish that we can have such generous and loving spirits all the time. In some ways, disaster can build a community. So can art. Look at what we’ve done here at the Red Room!

In the spirit of building community, I encourage all contributions from anyone who has experienced Red Room. Original artwork, poetry, prose, musings, and reflections are more than welcome. Just contact me at editor.redroom@gmail.com, or look at our submission guidelines on our website.

We have so much to share with each other! And hang on tight, there’s more to come! Come out on November 19 to see what the 7th Anniversary holds!

Joyfully yours,
Whitney Zahar
RR Scribe

Words from the editor – September 2016

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Scribe’s Musings: Greeting, salutations, and hello! Welcome all to this issue of the RR ENews. We are here for you, through first days back at school, crazy days in the office, and the cool days of fall and winter ahead. We are happy to see you again, and we are happy to meet you for the first time.

The purpose of RR ENews is to share what happened at RR events over the past month, as well as give you the news of what’s coming up. Along the way, we can have fun here. This is your newsletter. So, if you’ve been a performer at our events, if you saw or heard something at our events that really impressed you, or if you have original poetry, lyrics, words, or artwork you would like to share in the e-newsletter and blog, contact me at editor.redroom@gmail.com.

The rest of the RR crew have things to share with you, so it’s time to turn the show over to them. Happy Fall, and have a blessed Mid-Autumn Festival.

Joyfully yours,
Whitney Zahar
Scribe/Editor RR

Aside 14: A Merry Evening – August 2016

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Aside 14 August 13 2016

The Summer of 2016 ended with Aside 14 beating the heat with a cool night of fun & laughter. Whether it was a slight giggle, a huge belly laugh or anything in between, laughter can bring people together and establish amazing connections. In an instant, laughter can change the atmosphere of a room from chilly to one of warmth. That was what several of Taipei’s talented performers did while rocking the Red Room with their banter and wit. From Comedy to Improv to Insults and Toasts, laughs were definitely contagious this evening.

Starting the evening off, stand-up comedian Charlie Storrar shared his passion for the craft with famed British sense of humor and well-timed quips.Aside14Laughter

Aside14LaughterNext came the hilarious videos of the dynamic duo, Kevin Lee & Michael Wong from the 什麼東西 LK Show. Their original comedy web series poking fun at daily life situations has accumulated millions of views.

Aside14LaughterTo round out the first half of the show, Meg Anderson and her Sweet Danger Improv troupe (Matthew Long, Colin Norman, and William Openshaw) created on-the-spot comedic vignettes using input from their captive audience.

Aside14Laughter Aside14LaughterAfter a short break of feasting on delicious raw vegan treats by CoCo, stand-up comedian Eric Chang started off the second half with a bang. His routine focused on hysterical cross-cultural behaviors and situations, which we can all identify with in our own lives.

Then came the very first and much anticipated Roasts of Red Room! Co-founder Ping Chu and our own RR curator Manav Mehta were the first to feel the heat. Friends and foes alike gathered for battle under the capable direction Roastmasters A-Fong and the now infamous Charlie Storrar.

Aside14Laughter Aside14LaughterFirst up in the hot seat – Ping Chu. For many of us who have not known Ping for long, it was enlightening and amusing to hear roasters, Tina Ma, Brendon Chen and Brook Hall share stories about his past, quirks and foibles.

Last but not least, Manav Mehta stepped up to take his due. Long-time friends, David Gentile, Sam Dulaney, Addison Eng and surprise roaster Goober all took turns spilling some of Manav’s secrets. Most likely Roma learned one or two new things about her son during this process. As the saying goes, “with friends like that, who needs enemies?” Of course, Manav did not take things lying down. He came back with a few pokes and jabs of his own. But as all of us present were aware, everything said that evening was in the spirit of fun and camaraderie.

As E E Cummings said, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter”. Well, it was great knowing that none of us present wasted our day.

By Sharon Landon

Reflections on Visual Dialogues, August 2016

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In the last year we have had 10 Visual Dialogues in the Red Room International Village at TAF. Each show brought artists from different cultures and experiences to display art and share ideas. Art can be a window into another person’s culture and heart. It can also be a beautiful object on a shelf or hanging on the wall. The show openings bring together a cross section of friends, Red Roomers, art lovers and children. Art truly belongs to everyone and Visual Dialogues are an opportunity for artists of all media and experience to share their journey.

Visual Dialogues X, Balance

Visual Dialogues@the Red Room’s August show features Roma Mehta and David Pipkin. Their show is called “Balance,” and one can right away see why. Roma’s earthy tones and fluid brush strokes match with the tones and colours of David’s beautiful pottery. Each artist plays with the elements Earth, Fire, Wind and Water.
VDBalance
Roma uses words and colours to evoke these elements, and we feel at home looking and experiencing her work. With David’s approach to clay, one goes beyond seeing the earthen clay. Instead, one feels its texture with the eye, as well as the heat of the fire that was used to bake it.
VDBalance

“Balance” encourages the viewer to get in touch with the earth spirit within them.

This show will continue to run all through September, so if you missed it last month, come and feel the energy and open yourself up to the spirit.

To apply to show in Visual Dialogues, please go to our website www.redroomtaipei.com/contact-us to download the application form or use the link below:
https://redroomtaipei.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/VDApplicationForm2015.pdf

By Constance Woods and Charles Haines
Coordinators for Visual Dialogues

The Word from R4 – August 2016

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R4-mgd-FB-1920x1080pxThe Most Dangerous Game adapted for Radio Drama by R4 was performed in August 2016.
First, on a Saturday morning at Taipei American School by invitation of the Middle School Library and sponsored by the PTA. Roughly 70 people came to witness our intrepid readers unfold the classic tale by Richard Connell.

A write up for the second performance of MDG is not available at this time, as I am urged to meet the e-news deadline. But come and hear Paul Batt and Pat Woods perform at the Red Room on Friday, September 2, as well as enjoy some truly “dangerous” games.

In August we met for ReadAloud – Dreamin’
As a group (taking turns) we read Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which was originally delivered in August of 1963.
Individuals brought a variety of material to the table including: an original short story about an encounter with a spooky doll and a true story about two encounters (years apart) with a visible spirit.

Looking ahead to ReadAloud September – We’ll take as our theme “Playing for Change”
At Red Room we dedicate our September to the worldwide Playing for Change movement which raises money to build schools and fund music programs in the world’s poorest communities. How can we celebrate the PFC mission at our ReadAloud? Or have fun with the words: playing, change…?

All are welcome to come read aloud or simply listen. All languages and all levels of experience welcome.
Bring a story, a song, poem, quotation, a joke or whatever you’d like to read – or hear – aloud.
您可以準備任何想讀或想聽的小故事、歌曲、詩詞、名言、笑話；自己的作品或別人的著作，都行! (每人大約10分鐘，時間視參加者多寡增減)
我們還會提供貼心建議與指導，是你我雙向成長的好機會!
You may read your own material or something written by someone else.
(roughly 10 min limit, depending on the number of readers)
Constructive criticism will be offered – a great opportunity to improve skill.
Bring a snack or a beverage to share. Wine will be on sale by the glass.
歡迎帶些美味點心與飲料與大家共享，現場另有販賣單杯酒。
All languages and all levels of experience are welcome.
任何語言、主題都非常歡迎。
No microphones, no special effects. No competition. Guaranteed moral support.
我們不用麥克風、不做特效、不彼此競爭! 只有彼此支持鼓勵!
“There is a certain satisfaction in voicing written words. We lift them off the page and let them out into the air. At the Red Room village we have created a space-within-the-space and we meet there to listen and to be heard.” -Ruth, Director R4
文字有了聲音，從紙張活躍到空氣中，真的太有趣了。我們在紅房國際村裡創造了一個小空間，在這裡大家彼此相聚，一起聆聽、一起開口說。
-Ruth, 紅房新廣播劇團團長
Learn more –詳情請見:
Redroomtaipei.com > Events > Red Room Radio Redux
Or search Facebook for R4=radioredux
或搜尋FB粉絲專頁:

Reflections: Stage Time and Wine 81 – August 2016

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At last, I entered the Red Room for the first time in over a year! After a year of great pressures, obligations, and pain, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even though I haven’t been a part of Red Room for very long, I feel like I’m always coming home when I walk through those doors. I feel like I’m with my tribe.

I think many of us feel the same way when we come to Red Room. We feel it’s a place that no matter how long we’ve been away, or how far we’ve roamed, we can always return and find a warm welcome.

Stage Time & Wine 81

Some of us bring beautiful traditional Balinese dance, such Inggrid Wardani. Others, like Rajat Subhra Karmakar, bear beautiful songs from India, with the flavor of Taiwan. Someone brought us their talents for the first time, such as Sean Wang with his amazing violin, CiCi with her hip-hopping “Hamilton” virtuosity, and our own intern Willie Chung with storytelling skills. Max Powers regaled us with his sharp, delightful poetry, while Vicky Sun returned as our wondrous songstress. Andrew Salamanca also showed us more of what he was discovering in his explorations of Taiwanese music.

Here at Red Room, at Stage Time and Wine, or at any event, what you have to bring to the community will always be embraced. Songs, stories, poetry, dance, laughter, tears: bring it all! So long as “thee shall obeyeth the rules!”

For me, Stage Time and Wine 81 marked the beginning of a new year. It’s a year of new friends and new relationships with old friends. I see a bright new horizon where I get more of a chance to give back to the community, and where I get to cultivate my skills as a writer and a storyteller.

Thanks for welcoming me back, Red Room!

by Whitney Zahar, Red Room Scribe

Open Inspiration at Open Studio – August 2016

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Open Inspiration at Open Studio

First, the sad news: Lana, a regular Red Roomer who offers Thai massages on site at our longer events, is leaving for a few months for travel and adventuring. Her clever hands and her warm smile will be missed. However, as a farewell activity, we hosted her soap making workshop, free of charge to Open Studio participants.

openstudio1-0916

Eight people made soap from Lye, Olive/Coconut/Rice Bran oil, and various combinations of herbs and essential oils. It will take 4 weeks to dry into proper “soap,” but everyone got to take home a 2 years’ supply of soap. Best of all, we had immense fun mixing up a storm!

We painted a white bookshelf meant for the Red Room Reading Nook. It houses many books, and we wanted to cover the canvas with lots of color and stories to inspire imagination and transportation into pages and words. It was a team effort, and the painting itself was extremely therapeutic. There’s currently mushrooms, clouds, hilltops, tribal patterns, vines, dandelions, and abstract splatters covering the shelf, and it is ready!!

Many who attended Open Studio were first time Red Roomers, and they were amazed with the space. Every single person who came contributed an abundance of snacks and drinks – they really understood the setting of the afternoon and what we were trying to cultivate: an open, giving culture. Many eagerly insisted they would be back very soon, contributed ideas for future Open Studio activities, and we are all currently in touch.

It was an afternoon filled with interesting discussion, laughs, fun, and new friendships. Which is what it’s all about! We’re looking forward to seeing old and new friends next time!

by Julia Kao