Tag: events

Nature of the Muse, April 4th edition!

Audrey Dimola presents:

the second edition of
NATURE OF THE MUSE
a reading & live writing event

Thursday, April 4th
doors @ 7:30pm (event is 1hr & a half)
FIRESIDE at LIC Bar‘s carriage house!

Celebrate the end of winter and invoke spirits of warmth for spring!

What makes us write? What is the nature of inspiration? These are themes we play with in “NATURE OF THE MUSE.” At this cozy fireside literary event, you’ll be treated to two sides of each local Queens writer’s talent: their previously written poetry and prose, but ALSO what they can churn out on the spot – yes, live writing!

You, the audience, will have the opportunity to contribute a writing prompt to the pool – each writer will receive a random prompt and have to write from it on the spot (as you would at a writing workshop), and present to the audience at the end.

You write the prompts, they write a piece – amusement ensues… JOIN US!

Featuring:
Aida Zilelian-Silak
Joe Yoga
Tim Fredrick
Greg Kirkorian

+ special guests
Siobhan O’Loughlin
Tam Lin/Paul Weinfield

+ music
+ more

hosted by Audrey Dimola
and with much thanks to Gus Rodriguez!

No cover – 1 drink minimum

**if you like the idea of multi-disciplinary collaboration, creative improvisation, or reading/performing your work in general at a future ‘Nature of the Muse’ event please email audrey.dimola@gmail.com (not limited to writers either – musicians, playwrights, actors, etc!)

FB INVITE

Words for spring and summer…

STAY WILD – one shot from the “world as notebook” series – more here

Ladies & gents!

Been a long winter (doesn’t it always seem that way…?) but I am ready for spring and summer in full force.

You must not fear, hold back, count or be a miser with your thoughts and feelings. It is also true that creation comes from an overflow, so you have to learn to intake, to imbibe, to nourish yourself and not be afraid of fullness. The fullness is like a tidal wave which then carries you, sweeps you into experience and into writing. Permit yourself to flow and overflow, allow for the rise in temperature, all the expansions and intensifications. Something is always born of excess: great art was born of great terrors, great loneliness, great inhibitions, instabilities, and it always balances them. – Anaïs Nin

And so – thus! Here are some wonderful things I would be so honored to see any of your beautiful presences at in the coming months…

Reading at REZ Reading Series, March 7 – So happy to be reading at the re-launch of this Kew Gardens series! Here’s their Facebook page and a new article about the history of the series and plans for the future.

(APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!)

NATURE OF THE MUSE, April 4 – My reading and live writing event RETURNS! Celebrate the end of winter and invoke spirits of warmth for spring, one more time by the fire at LIC Bar – can’t wait! Featuring local writers: Aida Zilelian-Silak, Tim Fredrick, Joe Yoga, and Greg Kirkorian with special guests Siobhan O’Loughlin and Tam Lin/Paul Weinfield, music & more! 7:30pm, more details here.

Hosting at Boundless Tales Reading Series, April 18 – One of my favorite things to do ;) I hosted for Boundless‘ founder Aida twice last summer and am reprising the role – my participation in this series has led to so many amazing friends, opportunities, and connections and I am forever grateful and thankful to be a part of it!

Reading at Oh, Bernice!, April 20 – Another relatively new reading series in Queens – Oh, Bernice mixes it up and has a great following! Further details soon (general info is here), but I’m excited to be reading for them in April.

Coney Island Oasis event, May 11 – New frontiers! Designer/gift shop maven/Coney Island royalty Miss Lola Star and I are teaming up to bring an oasis to the Coney Island beach this summer! All free – featuring a yoga class taught by the amazing Dina Ivas (who has just embarked on an adventure in fitness fashion blogging!), spoken word, music – and a vegetarian potluck! All on the beach to kick off the summer in one of my all-time favorite places in NYC. More deets to come!

Hosting at Boundless Tales Reading Series, June 20 – AGAIN! :)

Reading at NYC Poetry Festival, July 27/28 – And speaking of.. I am so, so HONORED to be reading at the Poetry Society of New York’s NYC Poetry Festival (!!!!!!) on Governor’s Island thanks to Boundless Tales! Aiming to rep Queens and make ’em proud!

I PROMISE there will be more surprises in between in the coming months.

Don’t let anyone impose their limits on you. Be free, be you. Create in the spirit of love and bask in the warmth of possibility…

With gratitude always,

XO a.

Nature of the Muse – exciting, inspiring, just the beginning


Fireside with booker/musician/curator Gus Rodriguez & musical guest Ace Elijah

it is true that because of my doubts and anxieties i only believe in fire. […] life. fire. being myself on fire i set others on fire. never death. fire and life. –anaïs nin

Well, ladies and gents – we did it. I am so thrilled with the debut of “Nature of the Muse”!

THANK YOU to my wonderful and talented writers, Gus for encouraging me and giving the event a home, Ace for playing your gorgeous tunes, everyone who supported me and promoted the event, and of course the fantastic audience who wrote prompts, soaked in the atmosphere, laughed a lot, and packed the house (!!!) that night.

You can view the full program HERE.

There are so many moments frozen in my memory – all the laughter, my parents in the front row, making a toast to “fire and life” right before we began, on and on.. I am so grateful. And we are doing it AGAIN!

SAVE THE DATE! The next Nature of the Muse will be Thursday, April 4th @ 7:30pm, same place by the fire at LIC Bar! Squeezing one more toasty reading in before the Spring – more details to come! But first…

Lovely NZ/UK blogger and LIC transplant Eric Hathaway interviewed me and then wrote a great review of the show, complete with sound clips of all performers – please check it out HERE on his blog, Sometime in Long Island City! Here again is also the great piece Jeanmarie Evelly did for DNAinfo.com right before the event. Thank you both!

And – HERE ARE THE PROMPT POEMS!

Everyone in the audience wrote a random writing prompt on a slip of paper and I tossed them all into a bag. Then while one writer got up to read their previously written work, another writer took a random prompt and went downstairs to write. Each writer ended up having 10 mins or less to write, and then had to present their work to the audience at the end of the event, no matter what it was or what it sounded like. Quite a fun and sometimes unnerving experiment – thank you all for being so brave! ;)

MORE! »»

Honey & Poison performance this Thursday!

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 The above is a page from one of my favorite books – Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’

I was deeply struck by miss Siobhan V O’Loughlin‘s performance at the Renegade Reading Series I participated in last October, and now I’m lucky enough to be featured on the bill for one of her Honey and Poison storytelling/performance events, THIS THURSDAY in Brooklyn!!

I’ll be sharing narratives from this past transformative year including some of my newest work, and from what I hear there is a motley crue of performers that night including storytellers, poets, comedians, performance artists and… glass eaters (?!!). OH YES. Can’t wait!

Join us! Here’s the FB invite for more info!

Jan 27 fireside reading & live writing event, hosted by me!


Flyer by my amazing pal Mike Else!

I’m so excited to finally say this is a reality!

I’m throwing (and hosting) my first literary event which features reading AND live writing from all Queens writers… Did I mention it’s by the FIRE?! Literally – in the amazing, cozy carriage house at the back of LIC Bar, which has a lovely stone fireplace!

Here we go!

Audrey Dimola presents:

Nature of the Muse
a reading & live writing event

Sunday, January 27th
doors @ 6:30pm (event is 1hr & a half)
FIRESIDE at LIC Bar’s carriage house!

and now featuring special musical guest ACE ELIJAH!

At this cozy (indoor) fireside literary event, you’ll be treated to two sides of each local Queens writer’s talent: their traditional/polished poetry and prose work, but ALSO what they can churn out on the spot – yes, live writing!

You, the audience, will have the opportunity to contribute a writing prompt to the pool – each writer will receive a random prompt and have to write from it on the spot (as you would at a writing workshop), and present to the audience at the end.

Sound fun? Join us!

Featuring:
Michael Stahl
Sweta Srivastava Vikram
Carrie Noel
Michael Alpiner

hosted by Audrey Dimola
(who will also be doing a prompt, to be fair!)

and with much thanks to Gus Rodriguez!

No cover – 1 drink minimum

PLEASE ALSO BE AWARE OF THE 7 TRAIN NOT RUNNING ON WEEKENDS BETWEEN QUEENSBORO PLAZA & TIMES SQUARE – PLAN ACCORDINGLY WITH MTA’S TRIP PLANNER!

**if you like the idea of multi-disciplinary collaboration, creative improvisation, or reading/performing your work in general at a future ‘Nature of the Muse’ event please email audrey.dimola@gmail.com (not limited to writers either – musicians, playwrights, actors, etc!)

RSVP ON FB HERE!

I’d also like to take this opportunity to say how absolutely GRATEFUL I am to have gotten so much love and support for this event – thank you to everyone who is planning on attending, spreading the word, and of course writing articles! Please take a look, like them on FB, join their mailing lists, and get your local news from them: BORO, We Heart Astoria, LIC Spot, LIC Partnership, Discover Queens (who generously posted on Yelp and QueensNYC), as well as Eric Hathaway (forthcoming!) and Jeanmarie Evelly of DNAinfo.com who both interviewed me. Jeanmarie’s article, “Queens improv literary event to put local writers on the spot” (!!!) is HERE. THANK YOU!

Performing with PARACHUTE @ Brooklyn Museum!

Let me see,
Let me feel,
Let me know what is real,
Let me believe…

I’m so excited to be performing Muriel Rukeyser’s words again with The Believe Project from PARACHUTE: The Coney Island Performance Festival! We’ll be featured at the Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturdays on this Saturday, December 1st.

More info can be found here.

After all that’s happened, especially recently in Sandy’s wake, I’m so glad to be a part of a group proving that Coney Island ENDURES, as always..

XO

In Bloom’s Astoria Art Fest!

I mentioned this in my last post but – too excited not to post again.

The collective I co-founded (In Bloom!) is producing the first ever ASTORIA ART FESTIVAL this weekend!

All the details are HERE!

After Hurricane Sandy and this current Nor’easter.. It will be so good to come together to celebrate enduring arts and Queens community. Looking forward to meeting so many new artists and art lovers..

Speaking of Sandy – I absolutely urge everyone to look into ways they can help or volunteer. It’s been wonderful seeing so many ways to do so all over Facebook alone. Coney Island, Breezy Point, the Rockaways, Staten Island, NYC, NJ, everywhere else affected.. My heart has been with you.

Here’s to love and arts and better times ahead..

(Oh and – OBAMA! YES!)

XO

Let’s hear it for energy

Photo & writing by me (Instagram @audreyleopard), words paraphrased from one of my favorite Anne Frank quotes, rock from the woods in the Catskills, Upstate New York

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. – Kahlil Gibran

Unbelievably, it’s fall again. I’m thankful for everything this past year has taught me, both the beauty and the ache.. Thankful as well for wonderful experiences, new friends, arts of all sorts, and of course words, words, words!

– My mom’s energy healing event
– “world as notebook” photo series
– First BK reading at Renegade Reading Series
– Fun at PARACHUTE: the Coney Island Performance Festival
– In Bloom Collective’s Astoria Art Fest coming up
– My unforgettable Emerson encounter

MORE! »»

Gratitude


Photo by my mom, from my Instagram! @audreyleopard

My 26th birthday is a little over a week away! And so much has happened…

– Boundless Tales – reading & hosting!
– 1st printing of my book sold out!
– Compass Project phase two!
– My poem in Creations Magazine!
– My article in Missfits Magazine!
– Our Acey Slade & The Dark Party music video is soon to premiere!
– I’m in love with my typewriter…

MORE! »»

Reading tonight at Boundless Tales

I’m reading at the Boundless Tales reading series again tonight at Waltz-Astoria, starting at 7:30pm! Debuting a bunch of pieces including brand new work from the past few months. Excited to share..

Thanks so much to Aida for the invite and for supporting my work, and the work of fellow local writers, playwrights, poets, and authors.. Always looking forward to it!

Facebook invite HERE. Support local writers in Queens, and if you’re a writer yourself – go to the website and submit your work so you too can READ! :)

November already…

Keeping busy, busy, busy:

Reading at Boundless Tales was such a pleasure (and I always love reading on home turf!) – big thanks again to the lovely Aida and the talented writers I shared the stage with that night!

SUGAR -N- THUNDER is crankin’ on its video content which means I’m interviewing up a storm, and the rest of The Bang & The Clatter interviews have been posted – check out the latest here, and believe me there is more to come!

I’m also very excited to be co-hosting SUGAR -N- THUNDER’s first event: the NYC/USA premiere of NJ Calder‘s “Fear Eats The Seoul” on Dec 3rd at eGarage in LIC! If you haven’t heard of this film OR conversely if you’re a friend of NJ’s check this out!

Finally – I’m putting my voice forward and working on some sounds – fun covers, collabs, and more. Here’s a quick, one-take a capella video I did of me singing some of my favorite songs/vocalists.

Until next time.. !