14 Family Theater Night returns to Bayside schools
QUEENS WEEKLY, DEC. 9, 2018
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Next month, dozens of
students and their families
will get together for a night
of “acting and staging” in
Bayside.
On Tuesday, Jan. 15, from
6:30 to 9 p.m., PS 41 will host
its second Family Theater
Night, an evening where children
and their families perform
short scenes together on
stage.
The event was first conceived
by Marc Palmieri, a
playwright, screenwriter, actor,
director and Mercy College
professor who also has
two daughters in District 26
schools.
In 2016, Palmieri was approached
by Kim D’Angelo,
the family support coordinator
for District 26 schools and
Mary Bow, the parent coordinator
at PS 41, who asked him
to consider coordinating an
acting event as part of an art
series for district students.
The trio brainstormed
ideas and came up with Family
Theater Night, which was
first held in April 2017. Participants
included elementary,
middle and high school
students who attend public
schools in the area along with
their parents.
This year, Palmieri was
given the green light to do
a repeat of the event during
his time off between semesters.
The educator said that
his colleagues and students
at Mercy College were “so excited”
that he was doing this
for a second year. He added
that the experience was
fun for him and serves as a
“teaching moment” between
semesters.
Before participants
perform, Palmieri does
an initial demonstration
and lesson of basic stage
speech, movement and
reading techniques — “all
of which I teach at Mercy
College as Theatre Club
advisor and professor,
and which I’ve done extensively
professionally,” he
said.
Following the lessons,
each group breaks off into
separate rooms and practiced
their scripts for about
an hour. He recalled the
“mad writing rush” he experienced
when writing
the scripts, each of which
was tailor-made for each
group.
“The scripts should
have interesting characters,
comic elements and
nothing too heavy,” said
Palmieri. “There should
also be a central conflict
where the characters come
to some kind of change at
the end.”
Palmieri shared that he
tries to confirm the ages and
number of people in each
group to better inform his
script-writing. In case of last
minute dropouts, he also has
back up scripts on hand.
“I try to make them fun,
with material that can be
relatable to students of a
wide range of ages and experiences,”
Palmieri said.
During rehearsal,
Palmieri visits each group
to provide constructive
feedback on things like
staging, voice projection
and movement. He said
that the skills he teaches
the students, including
the nuances of stagecraft,
reading words, listening
and working together, can
carry over into other parts
of their lives.
“They’re great skills
to have no matter if you
pursue acting or not,” said
Palmieri.
In his experience with
last year’s event, Palmieri
observed parallels between
the younger students he
teaches and his college students
at Mercy.
“They’re both willing to
play because acting is play.
It’s part of how we communicate
with others,” he said.
Palmieri found that at
all levels, there is a mix of
people who have a keen interest
in acting, are unsure
about whether they are interested
or not or are afraid
when they first try it.
BY MARK HALLUM
The World’s Fare is
coming back to Citi Field
next spring and figures to
attract thousands of local
foodies eager to try bites
from across the globe.
Tickets are now available
for the May 18-19 festival,
to be held at Citi Field.
Inspired by the 1964-65
World’s Fair, the World’s
Fare gives attendees access
to food, drink, music
and entertainment for allotted
times and is curated
by leading chefs, food journalists,
bloggers and social
media influencers.
“It was a massive success
last year with over 10,000
people attending. The foundation
of the event is around
food and drink,” said Josh
Schneps, one of the organizers
of the event. “This year
we are going to be adding
new experiences and familyfriendly
activities for kids.”
The World’s Fare will
feature up to 100 different
vendors celebrating
equality and diversity
in the food industry plus
more than 50 global craft
beers and international
cocktail bars as well.
“The whole intention
of the event is to embrace
the diversity of New York
City and Queens in particular
as it is most diverse
of all the boroughs,” Schneps
said. “Everybody has
a shared love of food and
drink so it’s a great way
for people to come together
through that.”
A taste of some of the returning
vendors for this year
are Empanada Papa, Arepa
Lady, Dua Diva, Nacho Libre,
Knot Of This World,
Baba’s Pierogie, In Patella,
Home Frite, D’Abruzzo, Danny
Macaroons and Vaccaro’s
Bakery.
Ticket prices are currently
at their lowest
point, but will rise as the
date gets closer.
General admission
tickets are on sale for $19;
$49 passes will give you
general admission access
along with a free mug to
taste 12 different kinds
of beer plus one specialty
cocktail.
General admission
prices will jump to $29
in January, $39 in March
and $45 in April. General
admission including beer
tastings and a specialty
cocktail prices will move
to $55 in January, $59 in
March, and $69 in April.
Children’s tickets will
change from $5 to $10 in
January.
VIP tickets cost $199
and offer VIP lounge access
with unlimited select
beer tastings, a free
souvenir mug and two
specialty cocktails and
an additional 16 tastings
from the beer garden.
This price will not
change, however, and
tickets do not include
food.
The World’s Fare will
occupy the Citi Field
parking lot, and is accessible
by the nearby
7 train at the Mets-Willets
Point station. For
more information or to
purchase tickets, visit
worldsfare.nyc.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@
cnglocal.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
Marc Palmieri (far l.) at the 2017 Family Theater Night. Photo courtesy of Marc Palmieri
The World’s Fare returns to Flushing’s Citi Field
Photo by Corazon Aguirre
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