September 2019
Fringe: The 24 Hour Plays
What do you get when you take a group of actors, writers, directors and producers and give them 24 hours to create, rehearse and “tech” a handful of short original plays? Something uniquely amazing. The experience is profoundly exhilarating, culminating in a thrilling performance with lights, sounds, props and costumes for a live theatre audience. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $20.00 Genre: Theatre Ages: 13 and over Purchase Tickets Here
Find out more »Fringe: The 24 Hour Plays
What do you get when you take a group of actors, writers, directors, and producers and give them 24 hours to create, rehearse and “tech” a handful of short original plays? Something uniquely amazing. The experience is profoundly exhilarating, culminating in a thrilling performance with lights, sounds, props and costumes for a live theatre audience. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $20.00 Genre: Theatre Ages: 13 and over Purchase Tickets Here
Find out more »Fringe: The Geriactors
We present a program of short plays by and in tribute to Byron Wilmot, a wonderful local playwright who left us too soon five years ago. Some of these plays were written expressly for us and all display Byron’s unique humor. We leaven the program with a song or two (or three) from the Rochester Songbook, a collection of Rochester-centric songs compiled in 1910. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $15.00 Genre: Theatre Ages: 13 and over Purchase…
Find out more »Fringe: The Geriactors
We present a program of short plays by and in tribute to Byron Wilmot, a wonderful local playwright who left us too soon five years ago. Some of these plays were written expressly for us and all display Byron’s unique humor. We leaven the program with a song or two (or three) from the Rochester Songbook, a collection of Rochester-centric songs compiled in 1910. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $15.00 Genre: Theatre Ages: 13 and over Purchase…
Find out more »Fringe: The Eulogy
Best Solo Performance, 2018 Boulder Fringe. Outstanding Performance, 2018 San Diego Fringe. Patrons’ Choice Award, 2017 PortFringe. Critics’ Choice Award, 2017 PortFringe. Best Comedy, 2016 Adelaide Fringe. Best Show, 2016 Pittsburgh Fringe. Critics’ Choice Award, 2016 Atlanta Fringe. After a completely sold-out run at the 2016 and 2017 Rochester Fringes, "The Eulogy" (an absurd, theatrical parody of a funeral speech) returns. CITY Newspaper: “The kind of show you want to see again immediately.” Washington Post: “A comic gem.” …
Find out more »Veteran’s Day Reading and Potluck
Group Reading
Find out more »Fringe: The Geriactors
We present a program of short plays by and in tribute to Byron Wilmot, a wonderful local playwright who left us too soon five years ago. Some of these plays were written expressly for us and all display Byron’s unique humor. We leaven the program with a song or two (or three) from the Rochester Songbook, a collection of Rochester-centric songs compiled in 1910. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $15.00 Genre: Theatre Ages: 13 and over Purchase…
Find out more »Fringe: Town X
The Encounter (Baltimore-based magic team of Annie Montone and Brian Kehoe) is back at Rochester Fringe with their new narrative magic smash-up, "Town X." There’s been an event in Town X, and the entire community – including you – is on hand for an emergency meeting. The doors are locked, the cell phones down, and the radio says something that sounds like invasion. Part theater piece, part magic show, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen The Encounter. …
Find out more »Fringe: Tiramisu
After a completely sold-out run at the 2016 and 2017 Rochester Fringes, Michael Burgos returns with his second show, "Tiramisu." Several years after their relationship ends, Tony – a washed-up American musician – realizes that Teresa – an Italian pastry chef –was the one who got away. Not knowing what else to do, Tony writes a musical about tiramisu and tours it globally, in the hopes that Teresa will see the show and fall in love with him again.…
Find out more »Fringe: Town X
The Encounter (Baltimore-based magic team of Annie Montone and Brian Kehoe) is back at Rochester Fringe with their new narrative magic smash-up, "Town X." There’s been an event in Town X, and the entire community – including you – is on hand for an emergency meeting. The doors are locked, the cell phones down, and the radio says something that sounds like invasion. Part theater piece, part magic show, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen The Encounter. …
Find out more »Fringe: Tiramisu
After a completely sold-out run at the 2016 and 2017 Rochester Fringes, Michael Burgos returns with his second show, "Tiramisu." Several years after their relationship ends, Tony – a washed-up American musician – realizes that Teresa – an Italian pastry chef –was the one who got away. Not knowing what else to do, Tony writes a musical about tiramisu and tours it globally, in the hopes that Teresa will see the show and fall in love with him again.…
Find out more »Fringe: Town X
The Encounter (Baltimore-based magic team of Annie Montone and Brian Kehoe) is back at Rochester Fringe with their new narrative magic smash-up, "Town X." There’s been an event in Town X, and the entire community – including you – is on hand for an emergency meeting. The doors are locked, the cell phones down, and the radio says something that sounds like invasion. Part theater piece, part magic show, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen The Encounter. …
Find out more »Fringe: Aliens Like Us
It’s Poetry! It’s Theatre! It’s Poetry with Props! After the collapse of human civilization, aliens land on earth and embark on an intergalactic scholarly mission to see what went so horribly wrong that it caused human society to implode. During their exploration, these beings rely on an obscure twenty-first century poet’s work to decode the many mysteries of earth and make their anthropological conclusions, both serious and funny – just as all theatre should be. Show Length: 60…
Find out more »Fringe: Manifest This: A Tragicomic Odyssey
Kelli Dunham's "Manifest This" is a one-person, multimedia, live, comedic storytelling show about what happens when midwestern, genderqueer stubbornness disasterlife meets the Portlandia-esque world of The Secret, #manifesting, queerwoo, Kale As Religion and Ear Candling for Dogs. If anyone has told you that you can cure all your physical/emotional ailments with good thoughts, remote reiki and chakra massaging, this show is for you. Also, if you just like funny nonbinary people. Show Length: 50 minutes Ticket Price: $10.00…
Find out more »Fringe: INFERNO BEMSHI!
"INFERNO BEMSHI!" mixes and mashes the 1911 film "L'Inferno" with original libretto, music, soundscape and poetry by G. E. Schwartz and Dave Esposito in a real-time phantasmagorical performance, a journey deep into a no-go zone, filled with conspirators, the corrupt, collusionists and murderers. HELL WALK WITH US! And guess who's condemned to the lowest circle of this inferno! Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $7.00 Genre: Multidisciplinary Ages: 13 and over Purchase Tickets Here
Find out more »Fringe: Tiramisu
After a completely sold-out run at the 2016 and 2017 Rochester Fringes, Michael Burgos returns with his second show, "Tiramisu." Several years after their relationship ends, Tony – a washed-up American musician – realizes that Teresa – an Italian pastry chef –was the one who got away. Not knowing what else to do, Tony writes a musical about tiramisu and tours it globally, in the hopes that Teresa will see the show and fall in love with him again.…
Find out more »Fringe: Stand Up For Drag
A FABULOUS evening of some of the best divas of drag and stand-up comedians that Rochester has to offer! Musical performances and stand-up comedy will provide an all-inclusive night of enjoyment. Show Length: 60 Minutes Ticket Price: $15.00 Genre: Comedy Ages: 18 and over Purchase Tickets Here
Find out more »Bridging Silos: Collaborating for Environmental Health and Justice in Urban Communities
Free to Members | $5 General Public Presentation and Book Signing with Katrina Smith Korfmacher Low-income and marginalized urban communities often suffer disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, leaving residents vulnerable to associated health problems. With her ground-breaking book, Korfmacher examines ways to collaborate across systems and sectors to address environmental health disparities. Bridging Silos studies three efforts to address long-standing challenges: childhood lead poisoning in Rochester; unhealthy built environments in Duluth, Minnesota; and pollution related to commercial ports and international…
Find out more »History Reading Group
Free and Open to the Public Explore the big issues and personalities of history. The History Reading Group focuses on one topic each month and invites attendees to bring in books, articles, pictures, or experiential knowledge to share. Topics have ranged from the Chicago Fire of 1871, to Martin Luther, to the Romanovs, to the Opium Wars. Join the conversation every first Thursday of the month.
Find out more »Erik & The Wolf
A young man learns of love and change at the hands of a mysterious young woman and a wood of ancient spirits. Hnossa concludes their series of encore performances with a return of their first show performed in Rochester. Hnossa is a multimedia artists’ collective that uses myths and folktales of the past to explore the present and dream the future by weaving together layered soundscapes, song, and prose. Featuring three shows written by Didrik Söderström and Matt Frost and…
Find out more »Writers ROC!
Youth Writing Group : 7 Sessions Fridays 3:30-4:45PM September 27, October 11 & 25, November 8 & 15, December 6 & 13 Free and open to the public Ages: 10-12 In this young writers group you’ll do some new writing, share your work, and hone your skills. This will be a supportive community mentored by MCC creative writing major, Misty Yarnall who will present writing prompts, offer tips for revising and editing, and most of all create space for young…
Find out more »Last Mondays Comedy Open Mic
Hosted by Kevin Markman. Join us for the Last Mondays Comedy Open Mic in our performance space! Anyone interested gets 5-7 minutes of stage time. Come to perform or just watch. Comics are great but we need an audience too! Suggested donation $3
Find out more »October 2019
The Threshing Floor: GBTQ+ Writing Group
Free and Open to the Public December 3: Group Reading
Find out more »The Threshing Floor LGBTQ Writing Group
Hosted by Reilly Hirst & Gracen Lynch The deep end is fine here, so we don't have to stay in the safe shallows. If you love writing, especially "edgy" stuff, bring it. In all good writing, we benefit from many perspectives and are willing to take them in while standing in and speaking from our own truth.
Find out more »I Play His Red Guitar
Book Launch with Charlie Coté with Special Guests Charles Coté’s new collection of elegies about his son’s illness and death, I Play His Red Guitar (Tiger Bark Press), has been lauded by Kim Dower as “remarkable and gorgeous poems, by turns tragic and joyful.” Coté is the author of Flying for the Window (Finishing Line Press, 2008). His work has appeared in Barrow Street, Big City Lit, Segue, Salamander, The Cortland Review, Connecticut River Review, Upstreet, Connotation Press, Ducts, Terminus,…
Find out more »Creating Compelling and Diverse Characters
Evening Workshop: 6 Sessions, Wednesdays October 2 - November 6, from 6:30 pm - 9 pm Instructor: Alex Sanchez Deadline to Register: September 24, 11:59 pm What makes To Kill a Mockingbird’s Atticus Finch or The Color Purple’s Celie so engaging? We’ll explore the fundamentals of crafting layered, multidimensional characters through readings, videos, discussions, and writing exercises. We’ll learn how to create characters from the inside out, enlivening them with distinct personalities and voices. And we’ll look at ways to…
Find out more »The Book Thieves: Young Professionals Book Club
First Thursday of the Month Free and Open to the Public
Find out more »Veterans Writing Group
Free and open to any veteran and family members Hosted by Timothy Hansen and Mary Finucane The focus of the Veterans Writing Group is creative nonfiction drawn from the wartime and peacetime experiences of veterans and their family members. Prompts are used to generate original writing. Works are read aloud and workshopped by other participants. The intent of the group is to help vets write about their experiences in their own words for archival, historical, or literary purposes. The National…
Find out more »Teen Writers Circle
Youth Workshop: 5 Saturdays 10:30 am-12:30 pm, October 5, 19, November 2, 16, 23 Instructor: Sarah Cedeño Ages: 13+ Deadline to register September 27, 11:59 pm Avid and accomplished teen writers meet to explore new approaches to their craft, give one another feedback under the guidance of published writers, and plot world domination, or at least the future domination of the publishing industry! Using examples, prompts, and optional outside assignments, participants explore literary genres, techniques, and approaches, and receive encouraging,…
Find out more »A Nest of Words: What Kind of Writer Bird Are You?
Mini Workshop Instructor: Alison Meyers This workshop riffs off Gayle Brandeis’s discussion of how different birds’ approaches to nest building in the wild can jumpstart the creative process. Reading excerpts from such writers as Margaret Atwood (Ruby Throated Hummingbird), Orhan Pamuk (Common Tailorbird), and Patricia Smith (Satin Bowerbird), we will consider which avian habits coincide with our own writing style, interests, and goals. Participants will respond to visual prompts and lines from published works to choose construction material (subject matter)…
Find out more »Genesee Reading Series: Reenah Golden and Sally Bittner Bonn
Reenah Golden and Sally Bittner Bonn Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you will have feasted on the work of 24 regional authors (some prominent, some emerging; writers of fiction, poetry, essay, creative nonfiction, memoir). Stay afterward and talk to…
Find out more »Celebrating Joy Harjo
Participatory Reading | Monty Campbell, Jr. Featured Poet Free and Open to the Public Join us in celebrating Joy Harjo’s historic appointment as United States Poet Laureate, and plan to share your favorite Harjo poem at our “Open Mic for JH.” Our emcee for the evening, Monty Campbell, Jr., will kick off the evening, reading from his chapbook A Large Dent in Moon (Foothills Publishing, 2011), described by Susan Deer Cloud as “an urban Cayuga Indian’s poetry tour de force…
Find out more »Poetry of Joy, Writing as Gratitude
Special Topic Workshop: 1 Session Instructor: Kristen Zory King Deadline to Register: October 4, 11:59 pm The art of poetry and the art of gratitude are often interwoven. In this generative writing workshop, participants will examine joy and gratitude as active pursuits in both writing and life. We will study contemporary poems and poets who effectively acknowledge, appreciate, and, in turn, resist the world around them, including Ross Gay, Mary Oliver, Naomi Shihab Nye, and others. Each writer will leave…
Find out more »Children’s Book Basics
Mini Workshops Instructor: Will Hubbell Are you thinking about writing a children’s book? Have you started one? Published children’s book author and illustrator Will Hubbell discusses the unique aspects of writing for young audiences and provides essential information for aspiring children’s book authors. The class includes a writing exercise designed to help speed you to your goal. Participants also receive handouts.
Find out more »Writing for an Audience
Evening Workshop: 6 Sessions, Tuesdays October 15 – November 26, from 6:30 pm – 9 pm Instructor: Liza Flum Deadline to register: October 7, 11:59pm “My book is for everybody, but I really hope there’re young, black, gay, or queer men that get this book in their hands,” says the poet Danez Smith. Who do you hope will get their hands on your poems? Are you writing for a reader you know, for people from your community, or for people…
Find out more »The Fiction Workshop
Evening Workshop: 6 Sessions, Wednesdays October 16 - November 20, 6:30-9pm Instructor: Brian Wood Deadline to register: October 8, 11:59pm If you’re passionate about reading and writing fiction, or maybe you’re just looking for a little feedback, this course is for you. Through the analysis of character, voice, plot, and narrative flow, you will learn how to effectively put your creative ideas on paper. You can look forward to thoughtful, engaging class discussions on the craft of fiction and how…
Find out more »Turning Pages Salon
Free to Turning Pages Members Facilitated Conversation on Vievee Francis’s Forest Primeval Photo by Corine Vermeulen. Made available by The Field Office. fieldoffice.agency/francis
Find out more »Poetry with Terry Blackhawk: Reading and Book Signing
Free to Members | $5 General Public The Founder and Executive Director of InsideOut Literary Arts Project (1995-2015), Detroit’s legendary poets-in-the-schools program, Terry Blackhawk is the author of six collections of poetry, including Escape Artist, winner of the 2002 John Ciardi Prize for Poetry, and the recently released One Less River (Mayapple Press, 2019), called by Patricia Hooper an “unspecified story of loss and recovery, of grief and the many meandering paths away from grief. . . . a luminous…
Find out more »The Ecstatic Ekphrastic: Craft Workshop
Special Topic Workshop: 1 Session Instructor: Terry Blackhawk Deadline to Register: October 10, 11:59 pm Poets since Homer and his description of the shield of Achilles in The Iliad or Keats with his urn have found inspiration in rendering or responding to visual art in writing. In a process known as ekphrasis, i.e. the detailed description of a work of visual art, the intersection of the verbal and the visual creates a rich field for reflection and inspiration. Through the…
Find out more »The Art of Astonishment
Special Topic Workshop: 1 Session October 19, 10 am - 12:30 pm Instructor: Liza Flum Deadline to Register: October 11, 11:59 pm The best poems surprise us. Kim Addonizio writes, poems can “leap from one synapse to another, one thought to a further thought, one level of understanding or questioning to being in the presence of the mystery.” How can you welcome the unexpected, the mysterious, and the revelatory in your own writing? What does it take to break your…
Find out more »Telling A Tale with Improv
Mini Workshop Instructor: Joanne Brokaw Practice letting a story take you to new and wonderful places, even if it's someplace you’ve never planned to go. Fun improv games and exercises will help you break through writer's block or generate new ideas. No improv experience necessary.
Find out more »Writing an Identity Narrative
Evening Workshop: 6 Sessions, Tuesdays October 22 - November 26, from 6:30 pm - 9 pm Instructor: Robert D. Baker Deadline to Register: October 14, 11:59 pm In this course, you will write about how you claimed identity or faced challenges because of your identity. Narratives may address one aspect—or the intersection of multiple aspects—of who you are. Possibilities include coming out, confronting gender bias, becoming a parent, responding to racism, experiencing a religious conversion, advocating for yourself as a…
Find out more »ImageOutWrite Reading
Free and Open to the Public Experience the literary side of ImageOut, Rochester’s excellent LGBT Film Festival. At this special reading, local writers and members of the ImageOutWrite team are on hand to share selections from their 2019 literary journal. Hear the authors’ words in their own voices, grab a copy of ImageOutWrite, and network and mingle.
Find out more »Novelist Master Class
Master Class: 1 Session, Saturday October 2, from 11 am -12:30 pm Instructor: J. Mulrooney Required: When registering, email 5-15 pages in a Word Doc attachment to submissions@wab.org, with the subject line “Novelist Master Class” Deadline to register: October 18, 11:59 pm You’ll learn what’s working and what’s not in a supportive environment. You’ll receive concrete suggestions for improvement and tips and tricks to help you. Along the way, we’ll discuss key elements of the novelist’s craft, from the foundational--developing…
Find out more »Generative Poetry Workshop
Mini Workshop Instructor: Jessica Cuello This workshop will stimulate the creative process and bring forth new work. With a series of exercises designed to evoke our own obsessions in surprising ways, participants will write intensively and leave with several drafts for new poems. Selected poems by Tyree Daye, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Ashley Jones, Safia Elhillo, Naomi Shihab Nye, and others will be provided.
Find out more »Modes in Poetry: Rants, Yarns, Musings
Evening Workshop: 6 Sessions, Wednesdays October 30 - December 4, from 6:30 pm - 9 pm Instructor: David Ruekberg Deadline to register: October 22, 11:59 pm One reason it’s hard to say what a poem is or isn’t is that there are so many ways a poem can be made. Long lines, short lines, paragraphs, collage. Soapbox, anecdote, confession, meditation. In this class, we will explore different modes a poem may be written in depending on its “designs on the…
Find out more »November 2019
This Is Your Life! Writing a Powerful Memoir
Mini Workshop Instructor: Mark Block The workshop will begin with a discussion of the key elements of writing effective memoirs. Using familiar prompts in a timed activity, participants will then be asked to write a short piece to share with the group. Group feedback will focus on how well each writer has utilized the key elements of memoir composition. Mark Block is a semi-retired educator, classroom teacher and trainer. He also served as Adjunct Instructor at Syracuse University and Monroe…
Find out more »Rabindranath Tagore’s Śāntiniketan Essays: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy
Presentation by Medha Bhattacharyya Medha Bhattacharyya discusses her new translation of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s rarely known collection of meditative essays, Śāntiniketan (Abode of Peace), which looks at his ideas of universality; his socio-cultural location; and his reflections on Buddhism, Vaiṣṇavism, Bāul philosophy, and the Bhagavadgītā, and their contemporary relevance.
Find out more »Put Down Your Fears , Pick Up Your Pen, Overcome Your Resistance to Writing
Mini Workshop Instructor: Alex Sanchez Resistance to writing kicks everyone’s “butt,” but our desire to conquer it can triumph. With writing exercises, discussions, and readings, we’ll explore ways to tackle our fears and knock down dream- blocking barriers. Together we can win!
Find out more »The Art of Literary Translation
Master Class 1 Session Instructor: Bruna Dantas Lobato Deadline to Register: October 31, 11:59 pm Translation is one of the deepest, most creative ways of engaging with a text. It provides us with a unique opportunity to dive into another writer’s sensibilities and rewrite a text in our own words. It’s also a fun way to engage with different styles and literary traditions and an opportunity to bring diverse voices into the English language. In this master class, we’ll discuss…
Find out more »Genesee Reading Series: Sarah Freligh and Gail Hosking
Sarah Freligh and Gail Hosking Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you will have feasted on the work of 24 regional authors (some prominent, some emerging; writers of fiction, poetry, essay, creative nonfiction, memoir). Stay afterward and talk to the…
Find out more »Make a Scene! Crafting the Building Blocks of a Story
Special Topic Workshop: 1 Session, Saturday November 16, 10 am - 12:30 pm Instructor: Alex Sanchez Deadline to Register: November 8, 11:59 pm How do we create scenes that keep readers turning pages? We’ll take a deep dive into the fundamentals of crafting dynamic, layered, character-driven scenes. Through readings, discussions, ideas, and writing exercises, we’ll study how proactive characters determine plot events and are changed in the process. We’ll explore keys to selecting point of view; establishing stakes; identifying inner…
Find out more »Finding Your Voice With a Journal
Mini Workshop Instructor: Nancy Steinkamp What do Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, C.S. Lewis and Anais Nin all have in common? They are published authors who kept a journal, the container that holds a writer’s fullest expression, revealing a unique voice and increasing self-understanding. In this class, we will experience a variety of writing techniques that adapt to the changing landscape of our lives, and help us identify subjects to explore, and support us in developing a writing habit. By learning…
Find out more »Soul Knows No Bars: A Writer’s Journey Doing Poetry with Inmates
Free and Open to the Public Book Launch with Pat Schwartz
Find out more »Special Effect Sentences
Special Topic Workshop: 1 Session, Saturday November 23, 10 am - 12:30 pm Instructor: Anais Salibian Deadline to Register: November 15, 11:59 pm What kind of experience are your sentences providing for your reader? What sentence structure do you choose if you want to capture a scene, or create suspense, or deliver an emotional blow? If you've never studied how to grow a sentence, if you don't know that form can actually help you generate unexpected content, if you haven't…
Find out more »Writing an Intentional Book
Mini Workshop Instructor: Robin Flanigan Perhaps it’s a calling or simply a wish to make the world a better place. Whatever the reason, writing a book to help others live with intention means consciously considering the impact of your work. Using my book M is for Mindful as model, through a series of writing prompts, discover why you want to write the book you want to write. What gifts do you have to share, and why is it important to…
Find out more »December 2019
A Material Memoir
Master Class: 1 Session Instructor: Gail Hosking Required: When registering, email 200-700 words in a Word Doc attachment to submissions@wab.org, with the subject line “A Material Memoir.” Deadline to Register: November 30, 11:59 pm People's possessions speak of them: they are resonant, betraying, and reflective. They chart where we’ve been and how we've been. In this class we will pick objects that are imbued with significance for us and use them to tell the story of our lives. Using the…
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