Conversations with Creatives
THURS Feb. 20, 6:00-7:00pm
Stage & Stanza, hosted by Carol Durant and David Baecker, Theatre Institute at Sage, with special guests RSC President Matthew Shaftel and local actor/writer/singer Donald Hyman.
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Left: Donald Hyman, Right: RSC President Matthew Shaftel
Donald “The Soul Man” Hyman
A community singer, writer, actor and teacher in the American studies program at Saint Rose, Hyman and at Myers M.S. He grew up in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. Hyman says that “Seeing the Motown Revue at the Brooklyn Fox Theater’s Easter show in 1965, which included such legendary stars as The Temptations and Marvin Gaye, inspired his show. In addition to being a singer, Hyman writes, produces and directs his own plays, including “Blessed Blues” about Billie Holiday, performed at the New York State Museum, “Freedom Summer” about the civil rights movement, “Zoratellers” about Zora Neale Hurston and “Mayarhtyhms” about poetess Maya Angerlou.
In 2011, the Air Force veteran took home the gold in the “vocal solo song with dance” category at the annual National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Boston, MA which was filmed as PBS special.
He currently produces and hosts “Albany Tempo Spectrum” (now in its third season) for Channel Albany and Open Stage Media in Schenectady.
Upcoming acting in August Wilson’s “Fences” at the EGG on February 20, 21 and 22, 2015 for Black History month. Debuts his new play “ I Search the /Heart, I Try the Reins” at the College of St. Rose on March 14, 2015. Hyman has appeared off Broadway in “Dessalines” and in the 13 part History Channel series “The Revolution”
RSC President Matthew Shaftel
After a national search, Dr. Matthew Shaftel was named the 11th president of Russell Sage College and began his presidency on July 1, 2024.
Before coming to Russell Sage, Shaftel served for seven years as dean and full professor in Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts.
While at Ohio University, he cultivated philanthropic support and spearheaded a transformational $94 million college facilities project. At the same time, he worked collaboratively with faculty to reimagine the college with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, growing enrollment significantly, improving student outcomes, and raising the profile of both the college and the institution.
Shaftel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Philosophy in Music Theory, and Ph.D. in Music Theory from Yale University and has been highly active as a scholar, publishing numerous articles and books, including two national award-winning volumes published by Oxford University Press and University of Illinois Press. Recognized for his excellence in teaching, he has received three university-wide teaching awards, including a distinguished professor award, and was a finalist for two national accolades. He has served on many not-for-profit boards and developed two award-winning centers for community engagement.
THURS, Nov. 21, 2024 7PM
The Theatre Institute at Sage and Opalka Gallery, in partnership with local poet and playwright, Carol Durant, resumes its interview series, Stage and Stanza, to highlight local and national figures in the theater, poetry, and art fields. The series began as an online series in 2020 at the height of the pandemic but returns on Thursday, November 21 live and in-person at the Opalka Gallery lecture hall.
Featured guests are Amelia Paul and David K. Wilson. Amelia Paul is an actor on stage and television and a poet involved in many communities and initiatives. She is the family program coordinator at the Underground Railroad Education Center in Albany, serves on the board of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY and is the founder of the startup Soul Food Science Museum.
David K. Wilson is the author of nine novels, including the Sam Lawson Mystery series. His latest book is the psychological supernatural thriller The Girl in the Whispers. Originally from East Texas, he honed his writing skills as an advertising copywriter and creative director and ghostwriter in Chicago and upstate New York.
Left: Amelia Paul, actress, poet, Underground Railroad Education Center, Right: David K. Wilson, author/screenwriter
PAST Stage and Stanza programs
THURS, Sept. 29, 2022 7PM to 8:30pm
STAGE & STANZA *online*
Stage & Stanza Honors Carmen Lookshire & Michael A. Panzarino
Carmen Lookshire is a singer, songwriter, actor, creative, and old soul. She performs and writes songs similar to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Norah Jones. Carmen performs as a duo under the name “Carmen and Life’s Guilty Pleasures,” as a lead singer with Silver Arrow Band, and as guest vocalist for Band of Gold and Grand Central Station.
In 2020 she released her first EP album titled For Love which is available on all streaming sites. In recent years, Carmen has been involved with Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY. She was also seen performing as Toby Ragg in Sweeney Todd with Two of Us Productions and as Nina Rosario in Schenectady Light Opera Company’s production of In the Heights.
Michael A. Panzarino is local photographer and owner of M.A.P. Graphics, in Colonie. He has worked for the City of Albany to document The Tulip Festival, Alive at 5, the Jazz Festival, among other events. He currently also is active in the fashion industry and is Editor in Chief to a local teen fashion magazine, as well as the Creative Editor for Threads magazine.
Past Stage & Stanza Events
Join us for another virtual installment of our ongoing bimonthly poetry and theater series, Stage & Stanza, highlighting local and national figures in the theatre and poetry fields whose work has meaningful connections to current events. Watch here:
THURS, FEB. 24, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
We return to the online zoom format for this edition of Stage and Stanza. Stage & Stanza honors visual artist Michael Oatman and makeup artist Recinda Robinson in an evening of conversation, stories and poetry hosted by Albany poet Carol Durant and actor/director Sheilah London. Students and alumni join local actors in reading poetry and stories. This event was recorded, watch here:
November 18, 2021, 7:00pm
In partnership with the Russell Sage College Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Stage & Stanza presents a special evening to honor the memory of transgender individuals whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. There will be student and alumni performances to uplift and honor transgender members of our community as well as a memorial to all lives lost to transphobia. Please join us. This event will be live and in-person at Opalka Gallery. All attendees will be asked to show proof of vaccination or a Sage ID and to wear a mask.
September 23, 7:00pm
Sheilah London and Ira Eugene McKinley
This evening was recorded. Watch it here
The Theatre Institute at Sage and Opalka Gallery, in partnership with local poet and playwright, Carol Durant, will host the fifth installment of their bimonthly theater and poetry series, Stage & Stanza, to highlight local and national figures in the theatre and poetry fields whose work has meaningful connections to current events. On Thursday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. Stage & Stanza honored two people making a difference in the Capital Region: actor and director Sheilah London and director and writer Ira Eugene McKinley. A cast of local performers, poets, and writers will help celebrate the honorees. The evening was recorded. Watch it here:
About Stage & Stanza
Carol Durant is a poet, author, playwright and event host. She is an actor and stage manager most recently with the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York. She has a M.A in Africana Studies from University at Albany. She is the founder and host of Outliers Poetry Brunch, which is a monthly poetry brunch at Eden Cafe in Loudonville and online. She is a longstanding board member of Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar. Durant’s newest book is Cold Pressed and Just Brewed Poetry. Her first book, Whole Phat and Gluten Free Poetry was published in 2017. Her play, Center of Lying Down was recently cast and performed on Zoom by Quarantine e-Theater, as a wildly successful fundraiser for Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York.
David Baecker is Managing Director of the Theatre Institute at Sage and Associate Professor of Theatre at Russell Sage College. He is also a communications coach with the New York State Defenders Association. Locally, he has directed readings and/or productions for Saratoga Shakespeare Company, the Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy Foundry Theatre, Theater Voices, and the New York State Theatre Institute. Baecker has an M.F.A. in Acting from Florida State University and a B.A. in Theatre from Washington University in St. Louis.
Theatre Institute at Sage. Established in February of 2011, the Theatre Institute at Sage is dedicated to providing quality live theatre and arts-in-education programming to Capital Region youth, educators and residents. The Institute also provides opportunities for Russell Sage students as performers, technicians and teachers.