Breaking the Fourth

The BIG READ is Coming!

Foothills — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:43:52 +0000

Want to delve into the world of the word? Feel free to talk about your latest book or to ask a question about books that others may have read. Also, please do spread the word of reading and THE BIG READ. Check our website for the upcoming events.

Jazz Series Hits A High

Foothills — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:43:21 +0000

While I’m tapping away on the keyboard, Bradley Litwin and his band are performing in the upstairs theatre. It’s Jazz night. Brad is an incredible fellow. He’s a delightful, amusing, tireless enclyclopedia of Jazz history. Tonight there are a few SUNY Oneonta students in the house and they’ve come to take notes. We’re so happy they are getting such a thorough and charming lesson. In the lounge sit a few sculptures that Brad brought with him from Pennsylvania. He’s a kinetic sculptor and his pieces have the same quirky character as his musical performance. He is the kind of artist that makes us happy to present a whole series on Jazz, where the form can really be explored in all its variety week after week.

Jennifer

Ukrainian Eggs: Terrible Tales of Tragedy and AlleGorey

Foothills — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:22:43 +0000

I was thoroughly entranced by this dance piece, “artistically zany”!

http://www.riedeldancetheater.org/ukrainianeggs.html

MoM – A Rock Concert Musical

Foothills — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:16:39 +0000

Did anyone see this show when it was at Foothills?

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65426781220

Tell Us How We Are Doing

Foothills — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:27:32 +0000

We invite you to post on our blog; perhaps about a show or event you have been to at Foothills, or perhaps about something you would like to see at Foothills.

Please be candid with your posts. We want to hear what you are thinking about us and what we are or aren’t accomplishing for you and the community.

Delicatessen Satisfies My Hunger

Foothills — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:09:14 +0000

I first watched the French film “Delicatessen” on a shag rug in my family’s living room in 1992. I was 16 years old and virtually in my cultural infancy. While many peers were bored with subtitles and abstract plots, I had a hunger to understand what it was about these films that tickled the fancies of artsy-fartsy set.

Watching this film as a 16 year old confirmed to me that, indeed, foreign films were worth my time. And I’d be safe to say; this was one movie that impacted my future appreciation for unique film making.

“Delicatessen’s” Plot: Post-apocalyptic conditions are hard, meat is scarce, and people are desperate. A retired clown rents an apartment above the Butcher’s shop and meets a mélange of characters who are, to say the least, eccentric. This includes the Butcher who brutally tends to his flock of tenants by feeding them what livestock is available: HUMAN!

When the whimsical protagonist falls in love with the Butcher’s daughter (and visa versa), the plan to make a meal of new guy goes awry. She attempts to protect him through pleas to her brutish father, but to no avail. Finally she hires an underground vegetarian faction to fix things and then things REALLY get wild.

“Delicatessen” is visually engaging with striking contrasts, smoky cityscapes, and just an overall eeriness. The sets are reminiscent of Braque’s cubist paintings – monochromatic, confusing, and deliberate.

What’s most impressive to me is the multi-sensory experience that the film magically conveys with its cleverly composed percussion numbers and dust and smoke that can almost make you choke.

For those of you hungry for a little French culture post-apocalypse-style…or for those with, simply stated, an appreciation of dark humor, please join us at Foothills Performing Center on Monday November 17, 8 pm for this delicious and playful masterpiece.

Christina H.

I know what you’re thinking.

Foothills — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:02:14 +0000

ESP… tomorrow night, 8pm. Watched a couple of links… they sound really good. A few members of ESP played here a couple of weeks ago and were awesome. Bop to contemporary jazz… a little something for everyone…

Jazz in a beautiful cabaret setting. Sit down with friends… and enjoy the great acoustics of our upstairs theater.

we’re going to have dinner first and make this an after dinner treat.

Tampopo: An Opinion

Foothills — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:36:01 +0000

As I’m usually reminded whenever I watch foregin films, our sensitivities and expectations as Americans are not universal. We were all taught that any good story has a conflict, a climax, a resolution… and so on. Based on this, most Hollywood films are packed heavy with tensions and “situations”. Tampopo (Japanese) was a pleasant departure from that formula.

The film is simply a romp. This is not to say that it is without some plot lines, but it is a comedy after all, and a Japanese one at that. The main character Tampopo, is a widow who owns a noodle shop. It’s not such a good noodle shop, and the film follows her education and efforts to make her place the best it can be. To paraphrase Tampopo: Everybody has got a ladder to climb. Some climb every rung to the top and some don’t even know they have one.

And perhaps that’s the biggest “message” in the movie. To strive for personal improvement! I can say that after the movie I had a serious hankering for noodles and a new appreciation of the complexities of what appears to be a simple dish.

Absolutely well worth the time, this move has many heart warming moments and is an overall joy! Ten toes up!

At Foothills Monday, November 2 at 8pm.

John Costa

November is All About Food, Yum

Foothills — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:17:45 +0000

The November movies are great for date night. Food is a sensuous and seductive subject. The Foothills setting is intimate and fun. And the movies we’re showing will make you feel like a genius. They are staples of any study of cinema theory and practice. These movies will feed your brain! (Even the disgusting ones.)

See you at the theater.

Jennifer

Historic Oneonta Jazz

Foothills — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:33:17 +0000

Last night Foothills was the lucky venue for an historic night of great jazz. Groups from Hartwick and SUCO, students and pros alike, took the stage, TOGETHER. I was blown away by the enthusiasm and the musical potential in our town. The styles were eclectic, tunes for eveyone in the mix, and the evening spoke to something I think we should hold very dear – pride. How fitting that jazz, an American idiom, music of the folks, should be the vehicle for this outpouring of talent in our midst. More jazz please, more Oneonta Jazz.

Jennifer McDowall