Dear Friends,
Whether you’re able to follow your family’s traditions to a T, or are modifying those traditions by means of technology and/or your own inventiveness, or have decided to entirely reimagine the holiday altogether, I wish you and your families and friends a safe, healthy, revitalizing interlude of celebration this weekend.
And to keep the holiday spirit going, and in anticipation of this year’s free, online version of A Christmas Carol, our friends at Trinity Rep have planned a very clever virtual-yet-participatory 2020 Community Sing, and they invite you to join in by recording yourself singing along to one or more selected carols, or even just swaying to the music. All the details and instructions, including recordings of the carols, are here, but time is running out! So be sure to set aside some time this weekend for singing along with a song or two, and send your videos to Community Engagement Director Michelle Cruz, mcruz@trinityrep.com, by this Sunday, November 29, 11:59 pm.
This first session focuses on access to meetings of public bodies, ranging from school boards to state commissions, which have mostly moved online this year. You’ll be invited to submit observations about whether remote participation in public meetings has been effective, and to offer suggestions about how it could be enhanced. The webinar will feature five speakers to provide different perspectives, and video responses will be provided after the session concludes. Read the details of this innovatively designed series, respond to the survey, and register for the events here.
For the past nine months, we at PPL have attempted to understand this ever-evolving, idiosyncratic moment, and then create and present varied, accessible cultural programming in response, and it's been a constant cycle of questioning and requestioning as we've gone along. So I’m truly looking forward to learning from panelists Stephanie Gonzalez (Chair, Central Falls School District Board of Trustees), Steph Machado (Reporter, WPRI 12 News), David Petrarca (attorney and town solicitor), Brent Runyon (Executive Director, Providence Preservation Society), and Ramona Santos (Executive Director, Parents Leading for Educational Equity) about how their organizations have faced this year's particular challenges to producing public events - from public health issues, to gaps in technology resources, to meeting legal requirements. And I'm thrilled to be joining Liza Burkin (Lead Organizer, Providence Streets Coalition) and Shawn Selleck (Providence City Clerk) in responding to the panelists after the program. Spanish translation will be available, and registration is free, but required in advance, you can sign up here - I hope you’ll join us!
In all the gratitude of the season and more,
Christina Bevilacqua
Programs & Exhibitions Director
p.s. If you missed our conversation with Joseph A. Chazan, M.D., illustrator Erminio Pinque, and scriptwriter Lenny Schwarz on their newly published graphic memoir Chazan! Unfiltered, you can watch it here! As a prequel to the conversation, check out this short video by artist Richard Goulis, “The Making of Chazan! Unfiltered,” which gives a great look at the creative process and some of the many contributors to the book project - and you can purchase a print or digital copy of the book here.
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