Events and Classes: February
Bartelby.
The East Side Institute invites you to a benefit performance
BARTLEBY.
A chamber ritual exploring Herman Melville's famous story of Wall Street
One hundred and fifty years ago Herman Melville wrote a strange and disturbing story, "Bartleby." about a scrivener, a professional hand copier of legal and office documents (human ancestor of the Xerox machine) at a Wall Street law firm, who gradually withdraws from social responsibility and interaction, retreating further and further into himself. Is it Madness? Transcendence? Alienation? Do we need to name it? During a time before diagnosis--indeed, before psychology as we know it--how does the world around Bartleby deal with his emotional state and how does that emotional state impact his world? This odd and haunting story has been brought to performatory life by the talented ensemble of Jeremy Beck, Daniel Larlham and Craig Pattison (program manager of the All Stars Project's Youth Onstage!) under the conception and direction of Ben Vershbow. Their BARTLEBY. combines storytelling, theater and ritual to create an intimate and intense performance experience. Discussion to follow.
Friday, February 12 7:00 PM
East Side Institute, 920 Broadway, 14th Floor, between 20th and 21st Streets
Saturday, February 13 7:00 PM
Brooklyn Social Therapy Group, 106 South Oxford Street
Tickets are $25. Due to space limitations and the intimate nature of the show there are a limited number of tickets. To purchase your tickets online go to:
Click here for Friday performance (in Manhattan)
Click here for Saturday performance (in Brooklyn)
BARTLEBY.
A chamber ritual exploring Herman Melville's famous story of Wall Street
One hundred and fifty years ago Herman Melville wrote a strange and disturbing story, "Bartleby." about a scrivener, a professional hand copier of legal and office documents (human ancestor of the Xerox machine) at a Wall Street law firm, who gradually withdraws from social responsibility and interaction, retreating further and further into himself. Is it Madness? Transcendence? Alienation? Do we need to name it? During a time before diagnosis--indeed, before psychology as we know it--how does the world around Bartleby deal with his emotional state and how does that emotional state impact his world? This odd and haunting story has been brought to performatory life by the talented ensemble of Jeremy Beck, Daniel Larlham and Craig Pattison (program manager of the All Stars Project's Youth Onstage!) under the conception and direction of Ben Vershbow. Their BARTLEBY. combines storytelling, theater and ritual to create an intimate and intense performance experience. Discussion to follow.
Friday, February 12 7:00 PM
East Side Institute, 920 Broadway, 14th Floor, between 20th and 21st Streets
Saturday, February 13 7:00 PM
Brooklyn Social Therapy Group, 106 South Oxford Street
Tickets are $25. Due to space limitations and the intimate nature of the show there are a limited number of tickets. To purchase your tickets online go to:
Click here for Friday performance (in Manhattan)
Click here for Saturday performance (in Brooklyn)
Beyond Psychiatry
Revolutionary Conversations:
Beyond Psychiatry
with Dr. Hugh Polk
Tuesdays, February 16 - March 16, 7:00-8:30pm
Location: A.R.T. New York, 138 South Oxford Street
(Between Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street), Studio G
Fee: $125.00
CLICK HERE to register
Dr. Hugh Polk was a resident in psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1980 when he met the founder of social therapy, Fred Newman, and learned that development — not analysis or medication — was the cure to emotional pain. Join Dr. Polk in exploring his fascinating journey from prescribing for “patients” to working jointly with people to create their lives (emotionally and otherwise). Class participants will be introduced to the social therapeutic performatory methodology discovered by Dr. Newman and his colleague, the developmental psychologist Dr. Lois Holzman.
Hugh Polk, M.D. is a psychiatrist and social therapist with 25 years of experience in bringing the social therapeutic approach to community mental-health centers and hospitals throughout New York City. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatric residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Beyond Psychiatry
with Dr. Hugh Polk
Tuesdays, February 16 - March 16, 7:00-8:30pm
Location: A.R.T. New York, 138 South Oxford Street
(Between Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street), Studio G
Fee: $125.00
CLICK HERE to register
Dr. Hugh Polk was a resident in psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1980 when he met the founder of social therapy, Fred Newman, and learned that development — not analysis or medication — was the cure to emotional pain. Join Dr. Polk in exploring his fascinating journey from prescribing for “patients” to working jointly with people to create their lives (emotionally and otherwise). Class participants will be introduced to the social therapeutic performatory methodology discovered by Dr. Newman and his colleague, the developmental psychologist Dr. Lois Holzman.
Hugh Polk, M.D. is a psychiatrist and social therapist with 25 years of experience in bringing the social therapeutic approach to community mental-health centers and hospitals throughout New York City. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatric residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Conversations with a Black Minority
Conversations with a Black Minority: Postmodern Marxists in Dialogue
about a New and Innovative Approach to "Black" Psychology
with Lenora Fulani, Alvaader Frazier, Pamela A. Lewis and Gloria Strickland
Wednesdays, February 17 - March 10, 7:00-8:30pm
Location: 920 Broadway, 14th Floor (betw. 20 & 21 Streets)
Fee: $125.00, Senior/Student $95, Unemployed: $50
CLICK HERE to register
Launched in 2009, Conversations with a Black Minority is fast becoming
"the place to be" for intimate and exhilarating talk on difficult and challenging
issues. Join these four African American women activists as they invite you to
learn and grow with their stories of personal and political growth and the
impact this growth has on the communities with which they work. Come and
join the conversation! (Participation in a previous class is not necessary.)
Lenora Fulani is a leading youth development specialist who co-founded the All
Stars Project in 1981. One of her current projects is Operation Conversation: Cops
and Kids, a series of workshops that uses performance to facilitate dialogues
between New York City police and Black youth. Fulani earned her Ph.D. in
developmental psychology from the City University of New York. As America's
leading Black independent, she has twice run for President of the United States.
Alvaader Frazier, Esq. is a long time community organizer. She received her law
degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California and
has worked as a human rights attorney. Frazier is also a prolific poet, writer and
patron of the arts.
Pamela A. Lewis is the Director of Youth Programs for the All Stars Project, Inc.
and has expanded its youth development programs from coast to coast. Lewis is
one of the country's leading organizers and developers of inner city youth, and has
worked with tens of thousands of young people supporting them in building the All
Stars and teaching them that they can perform in new ways and be builders of their
neighborhoods, their cities and their society.
Gloria Strickland is the Director of the All Stars Project of New Jersey. Prior to
heading up the All Stars, Strickland was the executive director of the Somerset
Community Action (SCAP) and the Somerset County Head Start programs. She has
a Masters degree in education from New York University.
about a New and Innovative Approach to "Black" Psychology
with Lenora Fulani, Alvaader Frazier, Pamela A. Lewis and Gloria Strickland
Wednesdays, February 17 - March 10, 7:00-8:30pm
Location: 920 Broadway, 14th Floor (betw. 20 & 21 Streets)
Fee: $125.00, Senior/Student $95, Unemployed: $50
CLICK HERE to register
Launched in 2009, Conversations with a Black Minority is fast becoming
"the place to be" for intimate and exhilarating talk on difficult and challenging
issues. Join these four African American women activists as they invite you to
learn and grow with their stories of personal and political growth and the
impact this growth has on the communities with which they work. Come and
join the conversation! (Participation in a previous class is not necessary.)
Lenora Fulani is a leading youth development specialist who co-founded the All
Stars Project in 1981. One of her current projects is Operation Conversation: Cops
and Kids, a series of workshops that uses performance to facilitate dialogues
between New York City police and Black youth. Fulani earned her Ph.D. in
developmental psychology from the City University of New York. As America's
leading Black independent, she has twice run for President of the United States.
Alvaader Frazier, Esq. is a long time community organizer. She received her law
degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California and
has worked as a human rights attorney. Frazier is also a prolific poet, writer and
patron of the arts.
Pamela A. Lewis is the Director of Youth Programs for the All Stars Project, Inc.
and has expanded its youth development programs from coast to coast. Lewis is
one of the country's leading organizers and developers of inner city youth, and has
worked with tens of thousands of young people supporting them in building the All
Stars and teaching them that they can perform in new ways and be builders of their
neighborhoods, their cities and their society.
Gloria Strickland is the Director of the All Stars Project of New Jersey. Prior to
heading up the All Stars, Strickland was the executive director of the Somerset
Community Action (SCAP) and the Somerset County Head Start programs. She has
a Masters degree in education from New York University.
Selling Radicalism (Or, How Do You Sell a Therapy That's Not About "You"?)
Revolutionary Conversations: Selling Radicalism
(Or, How Do You Sell a Therapy That’s Not About “You”?)
with Janet Wootten
Saturdays, February 20 – March 13, 4:00-5:30pm
Location: 920 Broadway, 14th Floor (betw. 20 & 21 Streets)
Fee: $100.00
Click here to register
The economic, political and cultural marketplace is in turmoil. The Internet and social media offer mind-boggling connectivity. Some experts say it’s a perfect storm for the popularization of paradigm-shifting (controversial) ideas, products and programs. In a radicalized market place, is there a market for radicalism? What’s the role of controversy in helping create and expand the market’s leading edge?
By way of engaging these questions, this class introduces the work of the East Side Institute and its constellation of human development projects and programs that have successfully marketed radicalism for over 30 years - long before the perfect storm. We will examine positioning and marketing for Social Therapy – a therapy that makes waves because of its focus on group development rather than individual problems, and look at highlights of promotional campaigns for programs which employ social therapeutics as a radical alternative to traditional psychology and educational models developed by Institute co-founders Fred Newman and Lois Holzman.
Readings include selections from the latest publications of marketplace gurus, such as: Joshua Ramo, Malcolm Gladwell, Jean-Marie Dru as well as from the writings of Newman and Holzman. It’s a practical and philosophical conversation for promoters and pioneers alike, interested in exploring the creation of new markets and new possibilities.
Janet Wootten is a senior publicist for some of New York’s most high profile scientific, cultural, architectural and educational projects and institutions. She counsels clients on positioning themselves in the marketplace and cultivating, managing and growing off of controversy. A member of the Institute’s Board of Directors and a leader of its annual fundraising campaign, Jan has helped shape dozens of sales and marketing initiatives for the Institute’s psychology and educational programs. Prior to that, she helped design and implement promotional and marketing campaigns for the All Stars Project, Castillo International Publications and for the independent presidential campaigns of Lenora Fulani. She received an M.Phil. in developmental psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College.
(Or, How Do You Sell a Therapy That’s Not About “You”?)
with Janet Wootten
Saturdays, February 20 – March 13, 4:00-5:30pm
Location: 920 Broadway, 14th Floor (betw. 20 & 21 Streets)
Fee: $100.00
Click here to register
The economic, political and cultural marketplace is in turmoil. The Internet and social media offer mind-boggling connectivity. Some experts say it’s a perfect storm for the popularization of paradigm-shifting (controversial) ideas, products and programs. In a radicalized market place, is there a market for radicalism? What’s the role of controversy in helping create and expand the market’s leading edge?
By way of engaging these questions, this class introduces the work of the East Side Institute and its constellation of human development projects and programs that have successfully marketed radicalism for over 30 years - long before the perfect storm. We will examine positioning and marketing for Social Therapy – a therapy that makes waves because of its focus on group development rather than individual problems, and look at highlights of promotional campaigns for programs which employ social therapeutics as a radical alternative to traditional psychology and educational models developed by Institute co-founders Fred Newman and Lois Holzman.
Readings include selections from the latest publications of marketplace gurus, such as: Joshua Ramo, Malcolm Gladwell, Jean-Marie Dru as well as from the writings of Newman and Holzman. It’s a practical and philosophical conversation for promoters and pioneers alike, interested in exploring the creation of new markets and new possibilities.
Janet Wootten is a senior publicist for some of New York’s most high profile scientific, cultural, architectural and educational projects and institutions. She counsels clients on positioning themselves in the marketplace and cultivating, managing and growing off of controversy. A member of the Institute’s Board of Directors and a leader of its annual fundraising campaign, Jan has helped shape dozens of sales and marketing initiatives for the Institute’s psychology and educational programs. Prior to that, she helped design and implement promotional and marketing campaigns for the All Stars Project, Castillo International Publications and for the independent presidential campaigns of Lenora Fulani. She received an M.Phil. in developmental psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College.
Where Did The Castillo Theatre Come From?
Where Did the Castillo Theatre Come From?
A Four-Week Revolutionary Conversation
with Castillo Founder Dan Friedman
Thursdays, February 25 - March 18, 7:00-8:30pm
Fee: $100.00
Location: WEDO, 355 Lexington Avenue, 3rd Floor (@40th Street)
Click here to register
Founded in 1983 by a handful of political activists, the Castillo Theatre has kept radical political theatre alive in New York City during a 30-year period of political and cultural conservatism.
Castillo is the environment/activity that gave birth to the plays of social therapy’s founder Fred Newman; that has built a bridge between the ordinary people of New York and the post-dramatic theatre of East German playwright Heiner Müller; and that has provided a multi-racial home for Black Theatre—all without depending, as other non-profit theatres do, on government, corporate or foundation money. How did it do it? And why?
This is a conversation for all who are interested in or curious about political and/or experimental theatre; for all who have helped to build the Castillo Theatre and its progeny, Youth Onstage!; for all who have ever loved, hated or been baffled by a play at Castillo; and for anyone who wonders what the heck a theatre has to do with community building and human development. Friedman will lead a freewheeling, participatory conversation on Castillo’s history, politics, and aesthetics—and the role social therapeutics has played in it all.
Dan Friedman has been active in community based political theatre since 1969 and is a founder of the Castillo Theatre and the founder and artistic director orYouth Onstage! He holds a doctorate in theatre history from the University of Wisconsin and is editor of The Cultural Politics of Heiner Müller and Still on the Corner and Other Postmodern Political Plays by Fred Newman, and co-editor, with Bruce McConachie, of Theatre for Working Class Audiences in the United States, 1830-1980. He writes frequently about Castillo and other political theatre in both the scholarly and popular press, most recently in The Drama Review, Modern Drama and Back Stage.
A Four-Week Revolutionary Conversation
with Castillo Founder Dan Friedman
Thursdays, February 25 - March 18, 7:00-8:30pm
Fee: $100.00
Location: WEDO, 355 Lexington Avenue, 3rd Floor (@40th Street)
Click here to register
Founded in 1983 by a handful of political activists, the Castillo Theatre has kept radical political theatre alive in New York City during a 30-year period of political and cultural conservatism.
Castillo is the environment/activity that gave birth to the plays of social therapy’s founder Fred Newman; that has built a bridge between the ordinary people of New York and the post-dramatic theatre of East German playwright Heiner Müller; and that has provided a multi-racial home for Black Theatre—all without depending, as other non-profit theatres do, on government, corporate or foundation money. How did it do it? And why?
This is a conversation for all who are interested in or curious about political and/or experimental theatre; for all who have helped to build the Castillo Theatre and its progeny, Youth Onstage!; for all who have ever loved, hated or been baffled by a play at Castillo; and for anyone who wonders what the heck a theatre has to do with community building and human development. Friedman will lead a freewheeling, participatory conversation on Castillo’s history, politics, and aesthetics—and the role social therapeutics has played in it all.
Dan Friedman has been active in community based political theatre since 1969 and is a founder of the Castillo Theatre and the founder and artistic director orYouth Onstage! He holds a doctorate in theatre history from the University of Wisconsin and is editor of The Cultural Politics of Heiner Müller and Still on the Corner and Other Postmodern Political Plays by Fred Newman, and co-editor, with Bruce McConachie, of Theatre for Working Class Audiences in the United States, 1830-1980. He writes frequently about Castillo and other political theatre in both the scholarly and popular press, most recently in The Drama Review, Modern Drama and Back Stage.
Philm: Philosophy & Film @ the Institute
Philm: Philosophy and Film at the East Side Institute
Being John Malkovich (1999)
with Chris Helm and Rafael Mendez
Friday, February 26, 6:30pm-9:00pm
920 Broadway, 14th Floor (at 20th Street)
Suggested donation: $12.00
Click here to register
Join in for a sociable evening of film … it’s Friday-night-at-the-movies with a philosophical and methodological twist! Enjoy a favorite film, followed by some playful, philosophical conversation.
Being John Malkovich (1999)… This highly imaginative film explores issues in the contemporary philosophy of mind, most dramatically the nature of self.
Christine Helm earned an M.A. in Anthropology and Education and an M.Ed. in Applied Anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is director of the Enterprise Center at the Fashion Institute of Technology/State University of New York and teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Chris is a faculty member for the Institute’s International Class and Therapist Training Program.
Rafael Mendez is an associate professor and coordinator of psychology at Bronx Community College, his alma mater. He earned his doctorate in Clinical-Community Psychology at Boston University in 1983 and was a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School at Children's Hospital in Boston. He's a trained social therapist practicing at the Brooklyn Social Therapy Group and is on the faculty of the East Side Institute where he assists in leading Fred Newman's Developmental Philosophy Group.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
with Chris Helm and Rafael Mendez
Friday, February 26, 6:30pm-9:00pm
920 Broadway, 14th Floor (at 20th Street)
Suggested donation: $12.00
Click here to register
Join in for a sociable evening of film … it’s Friday-night-at-the-movies with a philosophical and methodological twist! Enjoy a favorite film, followed by some playful, philosophical conversation.
Being John Malkovich (1999)… This highly imaginative film explores issues in the contemporary philosophy of mind, most dramatically the nature of self.
Christine Helm earned an M.A. in Anthropology and Education and an M.Ed. in Applied Anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is director of the Enterprise Center at the Fashion Institute of Technology/State University of New York and teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Chris is a faculty member for the Institute’s International Class and Therapist Training Program.
Rafael Mendez is an associate professor and coordinator of psychology at Bronx Community College, his alma mater. He earned his doctorate in Clinical-Community Psychology at Boston University in 1983 and was a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School at Children's Hospital in Boston. He's a trained social therapist practicing at the Brooklyn Social Therapy Group and is on the faculty of the East Side Institute where he assists in leading Fred Newman's Developmental Philosophy Group.
Click on event title for more information.