The June 17 Speakeasy will feature:
- Pia Massie: filmmaker, teacher, activist
- Jessica Krash: composer
- Gregg Lachow: actor, director
- And a nostalgic trip to his hometown with host Russ Gershon.
The May 20 Speakeasy featured:
- Alice Randall: novelist, teacher, cookbook author, songwriter, screenwriter
- Stuart Fullerton: painter, teacher
- Chris Owens: musician, activist
- And host Russ Gershon attempts to cook some recipes out of Alice Randall’s Soul Food Love cookbook
The April 15 Speakeasy featured:
- Siri Smedvig: professional violinist, visual artist (YouTube channel).
- Brenda Prescott: on her first novel, Home Front Lines.
- Doug Fitch: opera director, visual artist, ace collaborator and inspired leader.
- Plus a short video feature about, well, a giant pile of salt.
March 18 guests were:
- Nick Newlin: musician, juggler, man of the theater
- Heather Corbally Bryant: poet
- Susan Stevenson Borowitz: photographer
Register now for the next Speakeasy
The Speakeasy: A series of conversations with classmates hosted by Russ Gershon ‘81, whose career as a touring musician has demanded his presence in speakeasies and the occasional “class joint” around the world for decades. Topics will begin but not end with classmates’ work in and around the arts.
The Speakeasy is open the third Thursday of each month from 8-10 EST, starting on March 18 and continuing until we run out of people and topics – which may not be until our fiftieth reunion.
Each episode features two or three classmates sharing their work via video, photos – even “live” – and talking with Russ about work and life. Pandemic times and our somewhat alarming age bracket inspire us to think, these days, about where we’re been and where we’re going – the big stuff. But as befitting a speakeasy, the tone will not be too heavy – we’ll gather to enjoy the company and talk about music, art, literature, and the series of pratfalls we call “life.”
After each interview, the floor is open to a bit of Q&A. And after the Speakeasy proper, the guests and host jump to HR1981’s private room at Sophya, a “proximity site,” for the Afterparty. It’s a more fluid environment than Zoom, perfect for a virtual party, and easy to navigate. (Here’s the link. Use Chrome or Edge browser.)
The Speakeasy does its socially distanced best to create the feel of an in-person reunion event and casual afterparty, occasions to interact with classmates we know well, not so well – or not at all. Drop by any time, and don’t forget to BYO.
Guests will include…
- Susie Kendall – singing in the Tanglewood Festival Choir and other groups
- Chris Owens – George Floyd: Say Their Names (music)
- Jeanne Heifetz – visual art – graphite on paper, graphite on stone, textiles with delicate metal and glass
- Jessica Krash – music
- Siri Smedvig – music, visual arts
- Elise Paschen – poetry
- David Rothman – poetry, music
- Lois Nesbitt – fine art and design
- Dan Jacobs – collecting and uncollecting art
- Cynthia Zarin – poetry
- Stuart Fullerton – painting
We’re looking for more. Feel free to suggest yourself or others: russ@accuraterecords.com