ArtNELA - Northeast La. Arts and Culture

Soprano Tynan Davis, pianist Cathy Venable and tenor Corey Trahan perform for "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Back when I was attending community college in New Orleans and had my first taste of voice lessons and musical theater, I remember thinking that training to sing on Broadway would probably be easier than training for opera. After all, the expectations for vocal performance surely couldn’t be as high for someone who at the same time was also being expected to act and dance.

As it turned out, the expectations are pretty darn high, and performers are expected to be able to do it all – belt out a show tune or an aria, plus act and dance, all one cue. I did my best with it for a few years and eventually started wondering if maybe just opera training would have been simpler.

But the fact is a good vocalist usually has to be able to give Rodgers and Hammerstein the same professional treatment as Handel. Classical training, therefore, is still the foundation for this, and it often leads to some really outstanding moments on Broadway, as well as off-Broadway.

To this effect, three vocalists came together recently to show off just what operatic talent can do with songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others, for a theatrically-enhanced presentation of popular music from the 1930’s to coincide with a statewide artistic tribute to The Great Depression.

The “Strike Up The Band” event was led by local favorite and tenor Corey Trahan along with soprano Tynan Davis and pianist Cathy Venable, on Oct. 15 in the Fountain Room of Biedenharn Gardens in Monroe.

The unending rain that had poured over the area for the entire week continued into this evening, and I was consequently a few minutes late to the start of the show. But I knew it was going to be good, because as I walked along the sidewalk, I could hear strong singing coming from the interior.

I made it inside and fitted myself into the only standing space left at the rear of the room, and in the direct line of sight to the performers. I felt a little awkward, but Trahan and Davis didn’t seem fazed by the strange journalist, luckily.

The show had been advertised as “theatrically-enhanced,” so I was looking for some costumes or a slideshow of show scenes, perhaps, but there was none of that. I found it to be a show-tune recital, performed by theatrically-experienced vocalists. This was quite sufficient, though, because the vocals were outstanding and gave the older audience more than enough to enjoy.

Trahan’s smooth tenor made a great base for Davis’s piercing soprano throughout the evening. They had started off well and just got better as the show moved on. I spent the first few songs putzing around with camera and video equipment, trying to get good footage of the duo, before finally being able to really listen by about the middle of the show, right around “My Funny Valentine.”

At one point about midway through the set, Trahan looked over his shoulder in the middle of a song, then lost his place and excused himself, only to return seconds later with surprise guest Louis Nabors, the voice chair at ULM, who was met with a loud round of applause before presenting us with his glorious bass on “Old Man River.” He gave this song everything it’s meant to have and really had me feeling like I was watching a very unique event. It’s not often one gets to stand just a few feet away from a voice that strong without paying for front-row seats.

Special guest Louis Nabors, the voice chair at ULM, performs for "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Trahan and Davis, dressed in an off-white ball gown and tuxedo, were accompanied by the extremely capable Cathy Venable, who has served as a pianist for Broadway shows. As a mezzo-soprano also, she gave us a few solos that were perfectly placed between songs by the other two vocalists. I told her after the show that I appreciated her ability to follow the vocalists and be aware of their need to breathe, which non-singing pianists accompanists sometimes don’t take into account.

A highlight of this show without doubt was “Handful of Keys,” from Ain’t Misbehavin, sung as a trio. All three performers gathered around the piano and it looked for a bit like the two main vocalists were just there to help turn pages for Venable as she played and sang, but then all three voices joined together to create the most spontaneous and fun part of the evening. They nailed the timing on this and looked like they were having such a great time that I wanted to join in. Davis hit some very comical high notes, as well.

I really appreciated Trahan’s ability to sing softly for one of my favorite songs, “What’ll I Do,” by Irvin Berlin. It’s so easy to overdo this one, but Trahan kept it at an even keel and took advantage of the small space to show off some dynamics.

Soprano Tynan Davis, pianist Cathy Venable and tenor Corey Trahan at "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Davis countered this once or twice later by singing full volume without the microphone. I was glad she made a move away from the mic temporarily — she didn’t need it, and she used the freedom to really belt some high notes on “Anything Goes.”

The most theatrical moment of the evening was held for the last, as Tynan and Corey shifted into acting mode for selections from “Oklahoma!” They played this off of each other with southern accents and some really amusing expressions, and gave us all something to look forward to if they should ever decide to perform together again.

The audience of over 80 people showed their appreciation with a standing ovation, and the trio of performers then invited all to sing along with “God Bless America,” after which everyone gathered in the reception room for a brief meet-and-greet.

For more information, email info@bmuseum.org or call (318) 387-5281.

Strike Up The Band from Eric Lincoln on Vimeo.

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ULM instructors and performers at "An Afternoon in Vienna" at Biedenharn Gardens, Aug. 30. left to right: Claire Vangelisti, asst. professor of vocal studies, Deborah McClung-Gillory, associate professor, piano dept., Dr. Lynn Clark, asst. professor of curriculum, and Dr. Mark Clark, associate professor and director of opera and musical theater.

MONROE, La. | 8/30/09
Instructors from ULM performed 19th century operettas, songs, piano and string classics for An Afternoon in Vienna in the Biedenharn Fountain Room. I unfortunately missed the event, but made the tail end of the reception, where I also missed the Viennese sachertorte, but did manage a few guest shots. Events Coordinator Abbey Ebarb said there was a standing-room only crowd and they even had to turn a few people away. The museum is planning ahead for An Afternoon in Paris, April 11, 2010, from 4-5 pm.

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We went up in the nearby building to get an overhead shot of the festivities.

MONROE, La. 8/29/09

I made it downtown to see Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark last week. Classic Steven Spielberg at his best, if I may say.

I also went to see District 9 at the Cinemark in West Monroe, which has really nothing to do with this article, but it was a great movie, too, and I just want to plug it, because if you liked Indiana Jones or the last Star Trek, you’ll probably like District 9.

Now, you may ask yourself, where in the heck is there a movie theater downtown?

Indiana Jones. Even better than Han Solo.

There is no movie theater, and that’s the beauty of it. This is a once-a-month, outdoor event, appropriately called “Downtown Cinema” — lower your speakers before you hit that link or you’ll get surprised by the audio commercial — that was cooked up by the youngish folks over at Portico Church in Monroe, who like a ton of other people in the area, needed something fun and free to do with a family on a Saturday night.

The church is moving and is in the process of purchasing a six-story building downtown and renovating it. In front of this building is a somewhat random patch of green that covers about a quarter of the block. Volunteers at the church got creative and ended up with the idea to bring in live music, popcorn and drinks, and a classic movie for an evening — all free and open to the public.

Portico Church volunteers who helped to organize the event.

These kind of events always stun me for a second when I see them. Who does anything for free? There’s got to be a catch, right?

But there’s no catch. You just show up with your posse, enough chairs or blankets to sit on, go grab some snacks from “The Popcorn Girl,” Janelle Briggs, a bottle of cold water, and enjoy yourself while the kids run themselves ragged on the grass. Forgot bug spray? No worries, because the church sets up a table with about twenty spray cans for general use.

If you’ve got a few bucks on you — and this is well worth it — a special treat comes in the form of hand-made ice cream from Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Treatery.

Kelly Aaen of Maggie Moo's Ice Cream hands out a cone of handmade ice cream at the Downtown Cinema. I highly suggest trying a scoop of this stuff at the Pecanland Mall.

Owner Kelly Aaen was there with a freezer-full of confections, and she gave me a scoop of the strawberry. “It’s the best ice cream you’ll ever taste,” she said confidently. And she was right. I’ll be bringing the kids to the Pecanland mall location soon to see what they think.

Finding the cinema in my car was a discovery. I felt like Indiana Jones himself as I drove around downtown looking for it. The streets were quiet, silent, dead as an Aztec city, and then suddenly, turn a corner and out of nowhere, lights and activity and music and over a hundred people. I had found the ancient temple, and the natives were celebrating … !

I didn’t swing in like Indiana, though, I just walked over with a pad and camera.

This night, the live music was courtesy of Kyle Craft and his band, and they were rockin’ pretty nicely with some originals and cover tunes under a white tent.

Since the band was the only tent-covered part of the event, I asked volunteer organizer Erin Stokes what the plan was if it started to rain.

This crew actually brought out a two-piece sofa, and said they might work on bringing out a whole living room at some point.

“We pray,” she laughed. “Actually, we haven’t really gotten to that yet. We just put the whole thing together, and so far we’ve been lucky. We wanted to give people something to do, and to use this lot, which is really the only green space here … the downtown area has so much potential. We’re all volunteers, and we just decided that rather than wait for the city to do something, we’d put it together ourselves.”

She’s not kidding — they really did put it all together, even down to constructing the 10′ x 14′ projector screen.

“We didn’t have the funds to buy one, so some guys from the church just built it,” Stokes said.

The perfect weather that evening was complimented by Christmas lights and Japanese lanterns strung on the trees, plus a few citronella candles on the ground to keep bugs out.

Not a bad way to spend an evening, really.

In the back of the lot, Tommy Perkins and company actually brought out a two-piece sofa and we’re taking their loungin’ quite seriously, more or less.

“We had some friends in town, and they helped us take this stuff out here. It’s to show our support for the church, because they’re doing a lot to revitalize the area, and this seemed like a fun way to do it and get some use of this old furniture,” he said.

“We’ve been talking about increasing this until we bring out an entire living room.”

That would be something to see. There used to be this nifty little movie theater in New Orleans that had sofas and recliners set up in small rooms where you could watch movies. It was great, very artsy, but it didn’t last long because most artists, of course, don’t have a lot of money to support such things. This would be a nice substitute. Maybe I’ll just haul a cot out there next month.

The first movie was shown in June. The next one, The Sandlot, is scheduled for Sept. 26, with a baseball theme running throughout the event, so bring your caps and baseball mitts, ’cause you never know when a game might start up. After that, there will be one more show around Christmas, and then it will start up again next summer.

I asked Stokes how they choose the movies.

“We shoot for the 25-35 year-old demographic,” she said. “We sit around a table and think up classic movies that everyone likes from the 80’s or 90’s. Raiders was tied with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but we couldn’t get the rights to that one. We actually buy the rights to show the movies — it’s a few hundred dollars for the weekend. We try to keep everything PG. It turns out that PG-13 wasn’t created until after Raiders came out, but we didn’t know that until later.”

They took care of it effectively, though. At that evening’s show, at certain points in the movie when it was required, they simply muted the language. It provided for sudden, but funny breaks, such as when Marion — played by Karen Allen, who was unlucky enough to get roped into that last miserable installment of Indiana Jones — decides to verbally karate-chop Indiana by yelling obscenities at him for two minutes. All we heard was, “Indiana Jones, you no-good …” and then she was yelling, silently, which got a laugh out of the audience.

Roy and Virginia White drove all the way down from Arkansas for their 40th Anniversary just to join the fun.

Stokes said funding is handled by the church and whatever donations they receive, and that everyone, including the band members, volunteers their time. They are also working on a “Christmas on the River” event with the Department of Economic Development.

Downtown Cinema is held at the corner of Desiard and Jackson Streets in Monroe.

Published in Delta Style, Sept. issue.

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The first stop brings me to the Mystic Art Gallery.

MONROE, La. 08/06/09

Soon after I moved from N’awlins last year, one of the first artistic events I heard about here was the monthly Artcrawl in Monroe/West-Monroe. New Orleans, of course, has its share of art walks and white-linen nights and everything else. I’ve attended a few of those, either on my own time or as an intrepid reporter-on-the-street. Those events are always well-attended, through pouring rain or blazing heat, or sometimes both.

We were lucky to have some great weather for the August 6th Artwalk here, though. I was looking forward to this as a first taste of what Monroe/West-Monroe has to offer in the way of art. Now, I had snuck down to 2nd Street earlier that week just to see what might lay ahead, and I wasn’t too enthused with what I saw. It didn’t seem like there was much going on that afternoon. All the studios were closed. I peeked in a few windows, and it looked like they were in the process of moving.

Well, I mused, maybe that’s just the way it is. You can’t expect some sort of booming art scene like what you see in a cultural melting pot like New Orleans.

So, I attended the Artwalk a few days later with my hopes somewhat toned down … and I was pretty quickly handed my hoity-toityness on a platter.

The main parking areas had been filled up. I found a spot down the street from the Coda bar, which as it turns out is a pretty popular hangout during the Artwalk. I headed straight for the farthest gallery on the map: the Mystic Art Gallery, owned by Andrea May. The place was fairly packed with over 40 people in the main room, and more spilling into the adjoining galleries. Her centerpiece for the evening was a large sun-like image that already had a red sticker on the bottom corner. I didn’t get the name of the piece but the photo of it speaks pretty well, I think. She made a good choice, and so did whoever purchased it. To the left of this work and centered in the gallery was cellist and West Monroe College graduate Hannah Underwood, intently playing various classical selections from a music book. Hannah, by the way, says she’s going to LSU in the Fall, where I assume she’ll continue playing the cello.

Summer Bennett, Kate McClelland, artisit Leah Reitzell and her husband Mac, at the Artcrawl in Monroe, April 6.

I was taken by Andrea May’s work, which covered one wall of the studio. I don’t know if this is just a phase of painting or if the work I saw was representative of everything she’s doing currently, but it was the kind of textured, stark work that I would probably put in my own home, if I had one, right there in that big room … right. Anyway, I’m not a painter, so rather than make feeble attempts at describing the work, I’ll just post the photos and let you decide.

Other sections of the gallery had paintings by Lou Kavanaugh, Leah Reitzell, a group of young artists, and sculpture by Renee Parnell.

I wanted to take sculpture when I was in college and still regret not being able to do it. The class only accepted nine students a year, and only in my last year did I luck into a schedule that allowed me to take it, and that year, the instructor broke up with the other art instructor he had been dating at the college, and moved to California to shack up with some svelte actress who played a Romulan on the Star Trek Enterprise TV series.

"Hi-Boy" by Lou Kavanaugh, at the Mystic Art Gallery.

Needless to say, I never took sculpture, which was possibly why I stopped longingly around the piece by Parnell a little longer than I might have otherwise. I stood out with a fat camera around my neck, and so visitor Beverly Comeaux introduced herself to me along with her 92-year-old mother, Ruby Albritton, and Albritton’s niece and the artist Lou Kavanaugh. They made a nice triplet, and gained a photo.

I went from there to talk with artist Leah Reitzell, who was with her two friends, Summer Bennett and Kate McClelland, and her husband, Mac.

This piece by Renee Parnell reminded me of my sculpture instructor from college who ran off with a sexy Romulan ... that was my connection, anyway.

“I’ve had some shows in Ruston, but this is my first time for the Artcrawl,” she told me. “I’m very excited.” She did seem happy about it, so I took advantage of her contagious smile and grabbed a shot of her with the assembly. She introduced me to photographer Christi Jones, who mentioned the “Heart Gallery” of photos of orphaned children set up at the Banquet Room in the Ouachita National Bank Building. I put it on my do-to list and moved on to the Arender Gallery next door, where I met photographers Brad Arender and Kate Hilburn.

Hilburn was the focus of Brad’s gallery, with her exhibit, “Pentimento: The Champs Elysees-Clemenceau.” Her photographs of graffiti-covered walls in a Paris underground tunnel looked to me at first as though they were paintings or color pencil drawings. The big clue was Hilburn casually meandering around with a pro camera in her hand, talking to visitors. That’s usually a dead giveaway that someone’s a photographer, ya know.

"Pentimento: The Champs Elysees-Clemenceau, metro wall #3" by Kate Hilburn. It's not a painting, okay? It's a photo of a Paris underground tunnel. I knew that.

Hilburn, who frequents Paris each year, said she made a point of printing the work on a unique, textured paper that mimicked the texture of the environment where she shot the photos, and to that purpose, she also framed a few images on brushed iron. She has been working as an artist full-time since the 90’s, with much of her time dedicated to the “Beating Hearts” exhibit with friend Terrie Autrey. That exhibit highlights the plight of victims of domestic violence and has received worldwide recognition.

Photographers Brad Arender and Kate Hilburn.

Visitors ponder works by Emory Nolan at the Becton Gallery, during the Artcrawl in Monroe, Aug. 6.

At the Becton Gallery across the street, musicians Vince Chow, James Simpson and Allison Huff played folk tunes, while visitors enjoyed paintings by Emory Nolan and gallery owner Margaret Becton. This gallery, like the others, was comfortably full with about 40 or more people, and had a few snack trays and drinks available.

Coming from New Orleans, I found Nolan’s subdued work familiar, with southern negro and music themes. Becton’s work, displayed near the wall of windows near the street, was a nice balance with its bright colors. I didn’t realize until I went in for a closer look that Becton’s texture was literally the texture from extra material, since it appears that she creates collages and then paints over that.

Visitors enjoy wine and art at the Becton Gallery during the Artcrawl in Monroe, Aug. 6.

The Heart Gallery around the corner consisted of sixteen portraits of children awaiting adoption. This is a volunteer project including local photographers such as Christi Jones and Joli Livaudais, among others, sponsored by the Center for Children and Families, Inc.

I headed over to Joli Livaudais Studio a block away. I had wanted to meet Joli for some time—she seems to be very successful at what she does, and being in the business myself, sort of, I’m always curious to meet photographers who actually make a living at it. Her studio is possibly the nicest photo studio I’ve ever been in, not that I’ve been in that many of them, but I enjoyed the wood floors and ceiling fans, and overall bronze-colored light that seemed to mimic that “golden hour” we photographers talk about.

Livaudais Studio might be the nicest photo studio I've ever been in. *sigh* Maybe someday I'll have one like this.

The right-side wall here featured a set of panoramic, spliced photographs by Jenny Burnham, while on the other side of the studio was a somewhat interactive set of photos titled “Introspective Mystery,” by Lauren Ward.

"Introspective Mystery," an set of photographs by Lauren Ward, at Livaudais Studio, had curious visitors enthralled with turning pages. It looks like a good way to read a book, anyway. No more of that sitting-up-in-bed stuff, just nail it to the wall.

Livaudais mentioned that she and some friends are discussing starting a monthly coffeeshop meet-and-greet for photographers around the area. I think this would be spectacular; in fact, I think something like this for media reps, artists, and musicians would be in order.

Now, if I just had that big house …

The next Artcrawl is scheduled for Oct. 1. For more info, check out the website, or shoot them an email: info@dowtowngallerycrawl.com.

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