The post River View Observer our latest Issue march 15-march 31, 2021 first appeared on River View Observer.

Art House Productions’ hit show “In Full Color” is back for Women’s History Month with 20 more women of color from across the nation sharing their stories through monologues, poetry, song and dance.

“In Full Color” has four shows — Thursday, February 16th, Friday, February 17th, Saturday, February 18th at 8 PM and Sunday, February 19th at 3 PM. These performances will be at Transmission, 150 Bay St. Jersey City, NJ 07302, near the Grove Street PATH Station. Advance ticketing for General Admission is $12 and $18 at the door and $10 for Students/Seniors in advance and $12 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at http://www.arthouseproductions.org.

This year, “In Full Color” features women in California, Maryland and Virginia joining Tristate talents. Participants include Yhá Mourhia Wright, Sholeh Wolpe, Amel Khalil, Venida Cheryl Rodman Jenkins, Purvi Patel, Eileen Ramos, Diana Burbano, Yvonne Hernandez, Amanda Andrei O’Connor, Sarah Teed, Paula Ralph Birkett, Sky Ortiz, Ashlei Hardenburg,Tuere Ganges, Audrey Martells, Nancy Méndez-Booth, Dena Igusti and director Summer Dawn Hortillosa. Also, this yearâ€s winning graphic design is by local artist Shirin Terhune Vazir.

There will also be a contemporary dance number opening the show choreographed and performed by Autumn Perez and set to “Stop the World” by up-and-coming recording artist Donna Missal. Missal, who has performed around the country at festivals including Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago, has been featured on multiple music blogs and websites like Billboard and the Fader and has reached the top ten on Spotifyâ€s Viral chart and Hype Machine with her hit single “Keep Lying.”

Hortillosa, who created the concept for the show, says this year is about strength and hope.

“Last year, we almost had to cancel In Full Color when Art House Productions was flooded just weeks before we opened, but two things pulled us through to have yet another sold-out year — first, was community strength. Through the generosity and aid of BGT Enterprises, Jersey City Theater Center and other local sponsors, we were able to literally rise above the tide. Second, of course, was the courage and determination of our incredibly talented cast.

“In 2017, women of color around the country are facing their own tidal waves. Many of us are unsure about the future of our health, our happiness, our human rights. But what we can be sure about is the strength and support of the community around us, and of the strength within ourselves. And I am thrilled to have found the women of this year’s cast, whose stories will surely move, entertain and inspire.”

Audiences will also be able to purchase merchandise to support the program including the In Full Color anthology, a collection of monologues from the show’s first two seasons.

Proceeds will support Thinking In Full Color, an educational outreach offshoot that has brought In Full Color alumnae to schools and community centers. Previous venues include: WORD Bookstores (where the anthology is carried!), Hunter College, Rutgers University, the Jersey City Art & Studio Tour, New Jersey City University, TEDxJerseyCity and Raritan Valley Community College.

Art House Productions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to the development and presentation of performing and visual arts programs in Jersey City, NJ. Art House presents theater, music, visual art, and dance programming as well as and the citywide arts festival, JC Fridays. For more information about our programs, please visit our website at www.arthouseproductions.org.

For accessibility requests and inquiries, please contact info@arthouseproductions.org or call 201-915-9911.

Made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, and by the County of Hudson, Thomas A. DeGise, Hudson County Executive, and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

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 By Sally Deering

“Iâ€ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling thatâ€s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” – Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah epitomizes the achievements one woman can make after facing extreme personal and professional challenges; and here in Hudson, many women follow in Oprahâ€s successful footsteps.

March is Womenâ€s History Month, and to celebrate, the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and Art House Productions in Jersey City are planning two events that pay tribute to women and their achievements.

The National Women’s History Project celebrates its 35^th anniversary with WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES, a theme taken on locally by the Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise, the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Cultural Affairs.

On Wed, Mar. 25 at 6 pm, DeGise and Committee Chairwoman and Freeholder Caridad Rodriguez will honor local women making a difference in their communities in an awards ceremony at the majestic Theodore Conrad Rotunda on the first floor of the Justice William Brennan Court House in Jersey City.

That same week, on Thurs, Sat and Sun, Mar. 26, 28 and 29, Art House Productions and 68 Productions in Jersey City team up for IN FULL COLOR, A Night of Theater Celebrating Womenâ€s History Month with monologues, poetry and music by 13 writers and actresses who offer a glimpse into their lives as women of color. A portion of ticket proceeds will be donated to the local non-profit WomenRising.

“This night of theater will show people there is this whole spectrum of talented actresses and writers who have hilarious, witty, touching, and inspiring things to say and who are really good at saying them,” director Summer Dawn Hortillosa says.

Hortillosa and Liliane Wolf founded the non-profit theater company 68 Productions to produce works by and for ethnically diverse people. Art House Productions, also a non-profit in Jersey City is committed to the development and presentation of performing and visual arts programs in Jersey City, and presents original theater, music events, visual arts, experimental performance, classes, video/new media and the quarterly citywide arts festival, JC Fridays.

WOMEN OF COLOR SHARE A PEEK INTO THEIR LIVES

IN FULL COLOR presents 13 women of color sharing their stories like dealing with curly hair; men with “yellow fever”; and being mistaken for a terrorist. Writers and actors include Jennifer Cendaña Armas, Karen Eilbacher, Samille Ganges (reading a piece by Alicia Wright), Inés García, Yvonne Hernandez, Amanda Levie, Nicole Miranda (reading a piece by Grisel Acosta), wendelin, Nerissa Tutiven, Shirin Terhune Vazir and Hortillosa, the showâ€s director.

“Summer Dawn Hortillosa has curated a vibrant evening of stories from women we are proud to celebrate,” Art House Productions†Executive Director Christine Goodman says. “IN FULL COLOR gives voice to women of diverse backgrounds and covers topics from the hilarious to the inspiring.”

A sampling from the show includes Shirin Terhune Vazir of Jersey Cityâ€s APPLE PIE & BAKLAVA; Samille Ganges†performance of Alicia Wrightâ€s piece MY CURLY HAIR – Wright is a founding member of Art House Productions†Board of Trustees. Yvonne Hernandez of Newark, who recently performed her one-woman show on romance at Symphony Hall in New York City will perform an excerpt from her piece, MY PUERTO RICAN MOTHER.

“My mother was a comedian who didnâ€t know it,” Hernandez says. “Itâ€s a tribute to her as a Puerto Rican woman who came here at the age of 18 and went through a lot. She had four children and she raised her children on her own because she was a widow. Everything she had to go through, people will get a glimpse into that. Shows like this are a good way for women to get their stories out.”

 Inés Garciaâ€s THE INTERVIEW and THE EXCEPTION by Hortillosa are also on the program with THAT MORNING by wendelin; HARDCORE LATINA PUNK BIRTH FRAGMENTS by Grisel Y. Acosta, performed by Nicole Miranda; and UNTITLED by Amanda Levie of Jersey City who is founder of No Peeking LLC, a blind live arts company.

Actress and director Karen Eilbacher of Brooklyn who holds a BFA with honors from New York Universityâ€s Tisch School of the Arts, will perform her piece HOWLS. Eilbacherâ€s credits include the Academy Award winning short film CURFEW where she was a dancer in a bowling alley. Eilbacher, whose piece HOWLS is about the changing relationship between a young woman and her ailing grandmother, says events like IN FULL COLOR, and the audience feedback they provide can be helpful to her as a writer.

“This show will help me get my work out there and give me the chance to see how people react to it,” Eilbacher says. “It could also help me find new avenues for my full-length script.”

Seeing performances by these women may inspire projects and opportunities for these women, Hortillosa says, both in New York and here in Jersey City.

“Weâ€re in the most diverse city in America,” Hortillosa says. “I think itâ€s really important for people to understand the people of other cultures around them. Cultures exist in different shades. I hope this show encourages tolerance, understanding and interest.”

CELEBRATING HUDSON WOMEN

2015 marks the 35th anniversary of the National Women’s History Project and Hudson Countyâ€s tribute on Wed, March 25^th, WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES, follows the national model. Previous themes were Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment in 2014; Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in 2013; and womenâ€s Art, Womenâ€s Vision in 2008.

“We will be honoring women from Hudson County, in a variety of categories, whose courage, strength and spirit in their respective fields and endeavors are special,” Cultural Affairs†Program Development Specialist Meredith Lippman says.

Lippman, along with William La Rosa, Administrator for the Hudson County Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism department and the rest of the cultural affairs staff curate and sponsor the annual event along with the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise.

“This event is a celebration of the outstanding achievements of women in our community,” County Executive DeGise says. “We are honored to have the opportunity each year to tell their stories, each one of them a vital thread within the tapestry of our shared local history.”

The women to be honored at the Mar. 25^th tribute all have a sense of commitment to community, Lippman says. (At press time, the honorees were still to be confirmed. Go to www.riverviewobserver.net for the complete list.)

At the ceremony, DeGise and Chairwoman Rodriguez will give out medals and certificates to the honorees. There will also be performances by vocalists from St. Dominic Academyâ€s choir and a poetry reading by Alia Oliver, a winner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts†Poetry-Out-Loud contest.

“We want to support our younger women,” Lippman says.

If you go:

 Wed, Mar. 25, 6 pm

WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES

Hudson Countyâ€s Tribute to Women in the Arts

Justice William Brennan Court House/Theodore Conrad Rotunda

583 Newark Ave, JC

Admission:  Free

For more info:  (201) 459-2070

www.visithudson.org

  Thurs, and Sat, Mar. 26, 28 at 8 pm; Sun, Mar. 29 at 3 p.m.

IN FULL COLOR: A Night of Theater Celebrating Womenâ€s History Month

Art House Productions

136 Magnolia, JC

(201) 915-9911

Tix: $8 in advance at www.InFullColor.brownpapertickets.com; $10 at the door.

For more info: www.arthouseproductions.org, or www.summerization.com.

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On Sunday, March 15, 2015 from 11am – 2pm, the Peninsula Womenâ€s Club will host their 2^nd Annual Women of Achievement Brunch.  The Brunch will be held at The Chandelier located at 1081 Broadway, Bayonne NJ and the cost is $35.00 per person.

The Clubâ€s motto is “striving for a better community” and the brunch honors a woman, as well as a young woman, who they feel lives this motto.  Madeline Lo Re, a local business owner, has worked within our community to bring awareness to others for various cancer treatments and precautions.  Briel Peters, a high school Junior, is involved with her community, school and Church with many different activities.  PWC celebrates these women for all they do for our community.

Ticket reservations are accepted via phone or email to Jean Styles 201-407-4250 or Jean424@aol.com.

The club is dedicated to bringing women together for the promotion of civic and philanthropic activities. They work to create an interest in education, fine arts and topics of public interest through cooperative relationships. We also build friendship and have fun while we are doing it.

Membership ranges in age from mid 20â€s to mid 70â€s, and include working women, retirees, college students and stay-at-home moms; single, married, widowed and divorced. PWC is non-political, non-sectarian and non-discriminating.

The GFWC Peninsula Womenâ€s Club (PWC) was established in Bayonne, in September 2011, and Federated with the New Jersey State Federation of Womenâ€s Clubs of the General Federation of Womenâ€s Clubs in 2012. The GFWC Peninsula Womenâ€s Club is affiliated with both the General Federation of Womenâ€s Clubs (GFWC) and the New Jersey State Federation of Womenâ€s Clubs (NJSFWC). This continues a long history of Federated clubs in Bayonne, dating back to the early 1900â€s.

Meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. 7PM @56^th Street Senior Center, 56^th Street & Avenue B. The next meeting is Wednesday March 18, 2015. New and prospective members are ALWAYS welcome! There is no obligation to join at your first meeting. For more information, check out the Facebook Page www.facebook.com/GFWCPeninsulaWomensClub or call Mary Kay Tokar at 201-320-8403.

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Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, the Municipal Council, and the Department of Health and Human Services/Division of Cultural Affairs will honor 27 outstanding women during the 14th Annual “Women of Action” Awards Ceremony, in celebration of Womenâ€s History Month. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2012 in the Council Chambers in City Hall, located at 280 Grove Street.

“Generations of women have taken the lead throughout history making significant contributions that have shaped our lives,” said

Mayor Healy. “In paying tribute to them, we are also expressing our gratitude for all they have done for us and recognize their commitment to improving the lives of the people in their community.” Womenâ€s History Month is a great occasion that honors the women who have shaped history and touched so many lives. Sharing their stories of steadfast determination also teaches future generations that anything is within reach as long as they believe in themselves and that there is no obstacle too great for them.

The following twenty-seven Women of Action were chosen for their artistic, economic, innovative, political, or social contributions by each of the nine members of Jersey Cityâ€s Municipal Council: Council President Peter Brennan	Pamela E. Gardner
Cynthia T. Harris
Diana Nunez
Councilwoman-At-Large Viola Richardson	Patricia Greene Alston
Robin Pinkowitz
Lycel Villanueva
Councilman-At-Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr.	Vidya Gangadin
Betty Martin
Rossana Villaflor

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The post Women’s History Month Celebration Wed. Mar. 14th Conrad Rotunda Historic Brennan Court House first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering

On Wed, March 24^th, Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders honored 35 local women, many of whom dared to be first including the first woman Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer; the first woman president of the Bayonne chapter of the NAACP Dorothy Adams; the first woman Vice President at Saint Peter’s College Dr. Eileen Poiani; and, the first woman elected to the Jersey City Municipal Council Lois Shaw.

 

These women – and the other honorees — made Hudson County history with their commitment and dedication to improve the quality of life in their communities. Hudson County Executive DeGise and the Board of Freeholders traditionally host this event in March, which is Women’s History Month, to recognize women’s contributions and ensure their achievements are recorded in our local history.

 Held on a balmy, spring evening at the historic Brennan Court House in Jersey City, the ceremony’s theme this year was “Writing Women Back into History.” The honorees, their families and friends gathered inside the Theodore Conrad Rotunda where they were greeted by Hudson County Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico who told the packed audience, “The women honored tonight have made their mark in their communities and yet their contribution has been written in invisible ink.”  She continued to say that the 2010 honorees have risen up through the ranks in male-dominated fields, became the owners of their own businesses against all odds and stood up for causes when others turned away.

 The 2010 honorees seemed to have something in common with high-achieving women who came before them, said Dr. Carmela Ascolese Karnoutsos, former Professor of History at New Jersey City University who was the evening’s Keynote Speaker. Ascolese opened the program with the presentation “Hudson County Women Past & Present,” which highlighted the work of several women who helped shape local history. Women like photographer Dorothea Lange of Hoboken, whose photographs of the Great Depression became iconic symbols of that time in our history; Ida Cohen Rosenthal, a Hoboken dressmaker who became the CEO of her own company when she founded Maidenform; and Cornelia Bradford who founded Whittier House in Jersey City and offered much needed social services to immigrant families arriving from Ellis Island.

 These women all became role models to other women in their communities and, it appears, that tradition continues through programs like this evening’s event.

 “I’m happy to be a role model,” Hoboken’s first woman mayor Dawn Zimmer said. “For me, it’s all about giving back to the community. I’m honored to be recognized.”

 Dorothy Adams of Bayonne, the first woman President of the Bayonne Branch of the NAACP was first to receive her Citation and medal as her family and friends from Friendship Baptist Church cheered her on.

 “This is awesome, it really is,” Adams said. “After all these years, I thought this part of my life was behind me. I’m 86 years old!”

 All 35 honorees received Citations and medals and after the ceremony, family and friends gathered for refreshments and posed for pictures with the honorees including Belkys Timeo-Severino, who opened Belkys’ hair salon in Weehawken 26 years ago after immigrating to the US from the Dominican Republic. Severino was joined by her nieces and other family members who showered her with flowers and took lots of photographs.

 “She’s a great woman,” Belkys’ 11 year-old neice, Janelly said. “She’s beautiful.”

 Hudson County’s “Writing Women Back Into History” ceremony at the Brennan Court House on Wed, March 24^th honored Dorothy Adams of Bayonne, Shirley Becker of East Newark, Maureen Bellucci of Jersey City, Sandra Bendor of Weehawken, Bojana Coklyat  of Jersey City, Sister Rosemary Coffey, CSJP, of Jersey City, Fannie D’Elia of Jersey City, Victoria Del Regno of Bayonne, Dr. Vijaya Desai of Jersey City, Alice DeFazio of Jersey City, Paula Frazier of Weehawken, Brigite I. Congalves of East Newark, Pamela Hepburn of Jersey City, Valerie Hufnagel of Hoboken, Judy Kennelly of Secaucus, Michelle Lopez of West New York, Joanne Martin of Guttenberg, Dorothy McNeil of Hoboken, Kathleen O’Keeffe of Bayonne, Eileen L. Poiani, Ph.D. of Jersey City, Lois Shaw of Jersey City, Francine Shelton of Jersey City, Reena Rose Sibayan of Bayonne, Katharine Steffens of Secaucus, Eleanor Tiefenwerth of Bayonne, Belkys Timeo-Severino of Weehawken, Mary Valastro of Hoboken, Julia Valdivia of Union City and the Hon. Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken.  Maryanne Campeotto, SC, Patricia Gerris and Kathy Walsh of Camp Fatima of New Jersey were also honored along with Mary Arrigo, Julia Dreisbach and Nan Spanton of Pathways to Independence, Inc.

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 The Theater Company (TTC) and Art House Productions (AHP) are teaming up to celebrate Women’s History Month and to prepare and present new voices in the local music scene with cabaret performances and a free workshop March 12 & 13, 2010.

 Women In Song will be a one night only cabaret featuring the talents of Mimi Francis, Margaret Leone and Judith Moss as they perform female-centric songs in honor of Women’s History Month. Leone and Moss are regulars on the local cabaret scene working with Musical Director David Zimmerman throughout Hudson County. Francis was just seen in TTC’s production of RENT and has sung in cabarets throughout the NY/NJ metro-area including Dangerfield’s, The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama’s, and Piano’s.

New Voices Cabaret & Workshop has been organized to help singers work on a song with which they’d like help “polishing” with a Musical Director and Director. The workshop is free and will culminate in the performers participating in a cabaret performance that evening with the ladies of Women In Song headlining.

There is a $10 cover charge (refreshments available) and tickets are currently available for purchase at

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/101515 (cash/checks at the door). Art House Productions

(www.arthouseproductions.org) is located at Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302

(SE Corner of Hamilton Park, near Erie/8th St). A link to directions as well event details can all be found on TTC’s

website at www.thetheatercompany.org/Cabaret.htmlThere is no charge for the workshop. Participants must bring the sheet music to a song with which they New Voices Cabaret & Workshop March 13, 2010 – 4pm workshop, 8pm show at Art House Productions

Workshop: are familiar and would like to work on with a Director and Musical Director to “polish” the song for performance at the 8pm show that evening. To register for the workshop, please email info@thetheaterno later than 48 hours in advance of the workshop start time. Location information for Art Housecompany.org

Productions is the same as listed above. A link to directions as well workshop details can all be found on TTC’s website at www.thetheatercompany.org/Workshop.htmlNo cost to participants, but there is a $10 cover charge (refreshments available) for audience members.

Show:Tickets will be available for purchase at the door – cash/checks at the door. Location information for Art House Productions is the same as listed above. A link to directions as well event details can all be found on TTC’s website at www.thetheatercompany.org/Workshop.html

Contact: David Zimmerman Phone: 201.248.2788 the.theater.company@gmail.com 268 4th St., 2nd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07302 www.thetheatercompany.org

For more information about Women In Song, New Voices Cabaret & Workshop, TTC or Art House Productions, please visit ww.thetheatercompany.org or email info@thetheatercompany.org or www.arthouseproductions.org or email info@arthouseproductions.org

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