In Haiti & Louisiana, family informs Maria Bello’s acting, service

Posted on Fri, Mar. 12, 2010 http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/87438152.html#axzz0o1RBs5D6

By CHRISTINE FISHER
Philadelphia Daily News

fisherc@phillynews.com 215-854-5444

A week after an earthquake decimated Haiti, Norristown native Maria Bello traveled there to join forces with Artists for Peace and Justice.

“I saw the most devastating things you could imagine,” said Bello, star of “The Yellow Handkerchief.” “Amputations with no anesthesia, children with no pain killers and spinal cord injuries.”

In a recent phone interview, Bello expressed concern for the 75,000 displaced people living under sheets at the camp where she worked, and stressed the importance of getting them tents before hurricane season.

She said that her activism is, in part, due to her active and compassionate family.

“We were taught from an early age that being of service is one of the most important things in the world – that you only have one life to live and you better use it right,” she explained.

Bello also attributed her acting success to her family and upbringing.

“My parents were always supportive of the idea of doing what you love,” she said.

Raised in Norristown, Bello attended Archbishop Carroll and Villanova. Today she lives in Venice, Calif.

Philly is “still such a big part of my life,” she said. “I love my Philly roots.”

For “Handkerchief,” Bello traveled to Louisiana shortly after Hurricane Katrina.

She was inspired by the people’s resilience and noted that Louisiana is “like a foreign country almost – such a rich culture and such a different way of life.”

“It’s really an exciting place to be,” she said.

When producer Arthur Cohn approached Bello with the film, she jumped at the opportunity to work again with William Hurt, a co-star on “A History of Violence.”

The script drew her attention as well.

“It’s such a mature love story,” she said. “It’s so gentle. You don’t see films these days like that.”

Bello said she learns from every role she plays. In “The Yellow Handkerchief,” her character taught her about second chances and trusting again.

“I think as you get older, it’s easy to get jaded about love,” she explained. “You’ve been hurt and you’ve hurt other people. It’s easy to sort of back up instead of jumping in, and I feel like May had the courage to jump.”

Bello did not do any research or backstory for May. Instead, she said, “like in life, you just put one foot in front of the other, and one moment leads to the next.”

In the coming months, Bello will be seen in Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups,” her first major comedy, and the John Wells drama “The Company Men.”

But in the next few weeks, she plans to return to Haiti.

Musician Koji keeps very busy

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/20100211_Musician_Koji_keeps_very_busy.html

Posted on Thu, Feb. 11, 2010

By CHRISTINE FISHER
Philadelphia Daily News

fisherc@phillynews.com 215-854-5444

Musician and artist Koji has a “to-do” list that would make a Fortune 500 CEO blanch.

It starts with raising $5,000 in 30 days via an online pledge drive. Then there’s his plan to release five new mini-albums this year and tour the country in support of them.

He’s got an ambitious “green” agenda that includes environmental activism.

And, finally, he’s running an arts collective called Colormake.

Koji – Andrew Koji Shiraki – got his start in the music business in Philadelphia about five years ago, when he was a student at Temple’s Tyler Art School. Now he’s based in Harrisburg, but when he decided he needed money to fund his big ideas, a friend suggested he turn to the Internet.

Specifically, Kickstarter.com. Through this site, supporters pledge money to artists’ fundraising goals. If pledges fall short though, the money must be returned – an all-or-nothing policy.

But Koji was willing to make the gamble. On Jan. 12 he posted his goal of raising $5,000 by Feb. 12. In return for pledges, Koji offered personalized postcards and T-shirts, music clips, video chats in which he would sing to supporters and even trips to the homes of fans.

With six days to spare, Koji surpassed his goal on Saturday.

Koji, Photo Credit: Philadelphia Daily News

He plans to use the money in three ways – to make music, promote activism and encourage environmental awareness.

Listing his goals in this way, Koji makes them seem fairly simple. But that’s before he begins detailing the specifics of his ambitions.

“It’s a lot of work,” he admitted. “I don’t know even how to explain it.”

“This isn’t an economy to support people who aren’t doing this because they love it,” he said, noting that across the country he has seen a drop in the number of bands touring – something he believes is healthy and reduces oversaturation.

“People are definitely doing music because they love it.”

For now, Koji is putting in 12-hour days as a “100 percent DIY” artist, releasing his most recent CD “The Seaside Sessions” and “itching to get back on the road.” (He also took part in a recent concert that raised more than $5,000 for Haitian relief efforts.)

Tomorrow Koji is performing in Newark, Del., a record release show for “The Seaside Sessions,” which he wrote in a day and describes as new acoustic originals and covers with an intimate feel.

Later this month, he is hitting the road in a tour that will include 60 dates and cover much of the U.S., excluding only the West Coast.

“I love the people element of [touring],” he said. “For me, it’s really important to know the community I’m walking into.”

On this upcoming tour, Koji plans to give back to each community he visits. He does this by offering art classes or supporting local artistic ventures.

Koji sees his tours as a “long, extended conversation with America.”

“What it’s really showed me is the power of art to effect positive change on the community and the individual,” he said in his Kickstarter video.

Koji plans to bring the conversation back to Philadelphia on the second leg of his spring tour.

Koji “Seaside Sessions” CD release show, 7 p.m. tomorrow, Mill Creek Unitarian Church, 579 Polly Drummond Hill Road, Newark, Del., $8.

First Video Project: Ryan Trecartin Wins Wolgin Prize

This is the first video projected turned in for Audio Visual News Gathering at Temple University, fall 2009. A team of four students, including myself, produced this video.

Alumni, professors and students take Fringe stage

[Originally printed in Temple News Sept. 8, 2009]

“A History of Sh*t: Manson in Thebes” is an outrageous, off-color comedy featuring talent including Temple students, recent graduates and professors.

It’s not every day students get to see their professor in a 7-foot turd costume or watch as another brainwashes fellow students to join a colon-cleansing cult, convincing them to go on a murdering frenzy.

The collaboration of Temple minds, the Theatre of Evangelical Scientific Revolution and the 2009 Philly Fringe Festival make these and other outrageous scenes possible – and affordable – with the ongoing production of “A History of Sh*t: Manson in Thebes.”

Photo Credit: Temple News

The Philly Fringe play sends Charles Manson, played by Temple religion professor William Allen, back in time to ancient Greece.

There, he and the God of Sh*t, played by university Mosaic professor Norman Roessler, promote colon cleansing, begin a cult and evoke a killing spree – providing a view of what the production calls “the philosophical implications of poop.”

“It’s ridiculous, tragic and hilarious all at once,” Roessler said.

In addition to starring Temple professors, the play’s success is due to many Temple students and recent graduates. Max Marguiles, a Temple alumnus, was helping Roessler with work for an academic journal when the idea of participating in the Philly Fringe Festival was brought up.

Marguiles is a member of the Theatre of the Evangelical Scientific Revolution, a group of artists and comedians who helped bring “A History of Sh*t: Manson in Thebes” to the 2009 Fringe Festival. He was a major link between the theater group and the Temple students, graduates and faculty who joined the production.

“Max was definitely the center point of it,” Roessler said. In addition to the show’s lead roles, there are 15 to 17 people in the ensemble, and of them, about 10 are Temple students, he added.

Sophomore horticulture major Julie Bare plays Oliviana, one of the women who becomes brainwashed by Manson in the play.

“Whenever William Allen or Norm Roessler are in a scene together, it’s outrageous,” said Bare, adding that there’s even a port-a-potty on stage.

“William Allen does a terrific job,” Roessler said. “A lot of stuff is incorporated from his own religious studies.”

Roessler also contributed his academic knowledge and experience with the study of grotesque realism.
“It’s a real collaboration between everyone involved,” Bare said.

“It’s pretty much like a carnival. Everything is going on at once,” Roessler said about the show, which premiered Friday, Sept. 4.

“A History of Sh*t: Manson in Thebes” will run again at the Rotunda Thursday, Sept. 10 and 17 at 8 p.m. and at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia Friday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.

“You’ll laugh, you’ll revolt, your Facebook lifestyle will get a jolt,” according to the show’s Web site. “You’ll scream, you’ll cry, and you’ll only kiss $5 goodbye.”

Audience members also have a chance to win a free colonic. The Infinity Health and Wellness Center of East Falls, Philadelphia donated six colonics, which will be raffled off at each production.

Katya Quinn-Judge, a Temple University alumna who graduated in February with her bachelor of arts in theater, plays the mother of the King of Thebes. Katya’s character also gets sucked into the colon-cleansing cult led by a fictional Manson and, as a result, kills her son.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, so the audience shouldn’t either,” said Quinn-Judge.

“It’s called the History of Sh*t. I think it’s probably going to attract a strange crowd,” Bare said. “I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised. It’s a hilarious show.”

Christine Fisher can be reached at fisher.christine@temple.edu.

The 15 best student artists:Muhammad Hakim Azly

[Originally published in The Temple News April 7, 2009]

Year: Freshman
Major: Architecture

(Anna Zhilkova/TTN)

Most artists spend years creating an international platform for their artworks, but Muhammad-Hakim Azly began his work as a mural painter on the international level at an early age.

Azly, a freshman architecture major, has already completed five murals. By doing so, he said was able to regenerate a lost spark of interest for art in the community.

Azly was offered the chance to paint his first mural when he was a freshman in high school, after a family friend asked him to design the mural for a school she built in Nigeria.

Soon after, he completed a second mural for another school in Africa. Each theme is based on where the mural is located, Azly said.

In his senior year, Azly completed two murals at his high school in Teaneck, N.J. The first was an honor roll mural, which was meant to inspire students to maintain good academic standing, Azly said.
Azly said his main outlet for artistic expression will most likely be architecture. He plans to focus on designing residential buildings.

Azly will use his artistic talent and passion as an advantage as he goes through the program.

“In architecture, it’s good to have an art background because it gives you an edge,” he said.

Azly said he hopes to make a trip to see the murals he painted in Africa and is considering participating in the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Azly’s main goal in painting murals is to enrich communities where his artwork is featured. Born and raised in Malaysia, Azly said he feels a strong connection to the town of Teaneck.

“It’s my second home,” said Azly, who lived in Teaneck for eight years. “That’s why I wanted to give back to the community.”

After completing his fifth mural, Azly organized a group of students from his high school. The students in the program paint murals in both the school and community. Most of the work is done during school hours when there are free blocks of time.

Azly said the mural-painting group is a productive alternative to going home after school or cutting class.

“The idea is to get the kids to go around the community and leave something, a legacy,” he said. “Ultimately, my hope for this still small yet growing organization is to make all types of art considerably ‘cool’ again.”

Christine Fisher can be reached at fisher.christine@temple.edu.

To Burn or Not To Burn

Last summer my aunt and uncle were talking about a family friend who died several years ago. They recounted that the last time they saw her she had asked what she should do with her journals. Should she leave them for her family to find and deal with after she passed away? Or, should she burn them?

At the time she was a little passed middle age, but she was far from elderly. My aunt and uncle told her to burn her journals reasoning that if she were not around to explain herself, the journals might be taken the wrong way. A few months later, she wandered into the woods and died – presumably of natural causes. The fate of her journals is unknown.

As a “writer,” I often think about this story. What would I have recommended? What would What will I do? Many famous artists are not discovered until after their death. It is unlikely that anyone will discover gold in my journals, but maybe they will enjoy something I have written.

Now, as I start this blog, I am again reminded of this story. Should I keep my writing tucked away in the pages of my notebooks so that I can retain the power to destroy it all? Or, should I set it free, with little explanation, for family and strangers alike to interpret on their own accord?

To burn or not to burn?