1. Our Executive Artistic Director, Jason Richards says. “I’m sure by now you have heard about Girl Scout Troop 6000. If not, below is a link to check out. In short, it is the Girl Scout troupe for the NYC Shelter System. From this link you can learn more about the program and buy cookies from them! I hope you will “tagalong” with me and “do-si-do” over to their website to buy some cookies.
https://www.girlscoutsnyc.org/en/whatgirlsdo/gs-troop-6000.html
https://www.girlscoutsnyc.org/en/whatgirlsdo/gs-troop-6000.html
2. Actor Jessica Vanek (The Marvelous Wonderettes, Fools) says, “Smart Food White Cheddar Popcorn. That’s it, that’s the favorite. It is just so good. I’ve loved it for many years and my love has not died. We’re planning an elopement within the year, so if that doesn’t demonstrate my love for this product, then I don’t know what does.
3. Actor Faith Klick (The Marvelous Wonderettes, Fools, Crimes of the Heart) says, “This month my favorite has been (surprise,surprise) baking bread! I just started this new form of baking and I love it! There is nothing like the smell of fresh bread and using it to make a grilled cheese. My newest favorite loaf is focaccia bread. This loaf has rosemary, garlic, olives, and cherry tomatoes on it. It was heavenly. Baking bread is a great way to desires and think about something else. Highly recommend!!!”
3. Actor Faith Klick (The Marvelous Wonderettes, Fools, Crimes of the Heart) says, “This month my favorite has been (surprise,surprise) baking bread! I just started this new form of baking and I love it! There is nothing like the smell of fresh bread and using it to make a grilled cheese. My newest favorite loaf is focaccia bread. This loaf has rosemary, garlic, olives, and cherry tomatoes on it. It was heavenly. Baking bread is a great way to desires and think about something else. Highly recommend!!!”
4. Director Traci Ledford (Crimes of the Heart, Silent Sky, and the upcoming Brighton Beach Memoirs) says, “As many of you know, I am based near Dallas, Texas. And, as most of you are aware, we are still emerging from an infrastructure failure triggered by a severe winter storm, unusually sustained cold temperatures (for our region), and a lack of oversight from the powers-that-be. Living through this event made me categorize my favorite modern conveniences. This may be a little unorthodox for Festival Faves, but what follows are the inventions/conveniences that I learned to appreciate during those ten days. First, the most important necessity for my family was clean, drinkable water. We were fortunate in that we never had to shut off our water, and we never had to boil our water. Others were not so lucky, and millions either had no water or a boil order in place. Had we lost this; it would have meant an immediate relocation for the safety of my elderly parents. Second, for me, was a working fireplace and stove. Our fireplace and stove are powered by natural gas, and it was a luxury to be able to curl up next to a warm fire and cook a hot meal on a stove when there was no electricity. There was discussion that supply was limited for both gas and water, so we conserved as much as we could without jeopardizing the health of our family. Coming in third would be phone service. The power outages knocked out our home phone, cable television, and internet service. Cell service was in and out: a victim of rolling blackouts as well. It was rather scary knowing I could not contact anyone via text, data, or phone call in the event of an emergency nor keep up with the local news/weather forecast. When this stabilized, I was so very relieved. The fourth most important thing for us was a well-stocked pantry and well-managed grocery stores. We were fortunate that we heeded the weather warnings and purchased enough food and medicine to sustain us, if needed, for two weeks. My sister and her family, in a different city, failed to do this, and they were scraping together ragamuffin meals as their grocery store was bare. Finally, the last thing was electricity. I was surprised by how well we did without it: candles, flashlights, firelight, books, conversation, and warm blankets served us well. In Texas, our homes are built to keep us cool--for we are well known for our long summer streaks of 100*+ days. And, while snow is magical and beautiful, it was anxiety-inducing to have the mercury dip below zero without a way to protect our homes and families. Of course, as I write this, we've already reached 81* just a week after we hit -2*. And that, my friends, is Texas in a nutshell.”
5. Our Arts Ed Director, Brooke Smith says, “My Festival Fave for March 2021 is the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso! Starring Jason Sudeikis and based on a character he first portrayed during NBC's 2013 coverage of the English Premier League, Ted Lasso follows a Division 2 American football coach (the eponymous Lasso) who is hired by a vindictive divorcee to coach one of the most prominent soccer teams in the UK: the fictional AFC Richmond. Despite being hired to fail, Ted rises to the occasion, gaining the love of his team as well as the audience.
Despite having played several high school sports, I would not consider myself a ‘sports person.’ But I couldn't help but fall in love with Ted and his team of misfits. I laughed, I cried, I reconsidered all of my life decisions, I could not recommend it more. It may be difficult to get a hold of since it's only streaming on Apple TV+, a less-purchased streaming service, but if you know a friend who will let you use their passcode or if you're willing to start your 7-day free trial, it's well worth it!"
6. Isaac Bont, our Marketing Director says, “Feel good movies can get a bad rap these days. Chef by Jon Favreau is absolutely an easy breezy movie that I caught on Netflix that I'd heard good things about previously. It follows a professional chef as he reworks his personal and artistic life over a food truck road trip from Miami to New Orleans to Texas. The most interesting thing to me about this film was the story structure. Following the first twenty minutes, there is no conflict. It's just a feel good journey with likeable characters and a lot of great food and music following the climax of conflict that happens within the first ten minutes. Very strange story structure which pays off because it was still enjoyable to watch, and a testament that we don't always need the old tried and true story structure of a normal narrative journey! Also, it's a love letter to Cuban sandwiches... more on those in my April Festival Fave coming up!
Despite having played several high school sports, I would not consider myself a ‘sports person.’ But I couldn't help but fall in love with Ted and his team of misfits. I laughed, I cried, I reconsidered all of my life decisions, I could not recommend it more. It may be difficult to get a hold of since it's only streaming on Apple TV+, a less-purchased streaming service, but if you know a friend who will let you use their passcode or if you're willing to start your 7-day free trial, it's well worth it!"
6. Isaac Bont, our Marketing Director says, “Feel good movies can get a bad rap these days. Chef by Jon Favreau is absolutely an easy breezy movie that I caught on Netflix that I'd heard good things about previously. It follows a professional chef as he reworks his personal and artistic life over a food truck road trip from Miami to New Orleans to Texas. The most interesting thing to me about this film was the story structure. Following the first twenty minutes, there is no conflict. It's just a feel good journey with likeable characters and a lot of great food and music following the climax of conflict that happens within the first ten minutes. Very strange story structure which pays off because it was still enjoyable to watch, and a testament that we don't always need the old tried and true story structure of a normal narrative journey! Also, it's a love letter to Cuban sandwiches... more on those in my April Festival Fave coming up!
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