A Faux-Real Theatre/NonStop Institute Collaboration

Antioch College will present a vibrant, all-male production of the Greek classic OEDIPUS REX, performed “exactly as Sophocles intended it,” at 6:00 p.m. August 20 to 22 in the Antioch Amphitheater, 795 Corey Street in Yellow Springs. Tickets for the show will be a $15 suggested donation.

The cast of 14, which includes local actors along with members of the Faux-Real Theatre ensemble of New York City, will utilize the performance techniques of the ancient Greeks to perform a traditional rendition of Sophocles’ dramatic masterpiece, Faux-Real Director Mark Greenfield said.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Greeks performed in brightly colored wigs, fantastical costumes, and masks that acted as megaphones. The production will incorporate the colorful aesthetic of these ancient performances, and the actors will utilize a broad physical style that is powered by live music, song and dance.

Greenfield, 1986 graduate of Antioch College, is the founding artistic director of the Faux-Real Theatre Company, with whom he has created such shows as FUNBOX Times Square, William Shakespeare’s Haunted House and Htebcam (A Backwards Re-working of Macbeth). In addition to his work with Faux-Real, Greenfield was a writer for the Drew Barrymore film Whip It, and the lead actor in the Amir Naderi film VEGAS: Based on a True Story. He toured the country for two years with IMAGO the Theatre Mask Ensemble, and he played Arlecchino for five-years with the Southern Italian Commedia dell’Arte company I Giullari Di Piazza.

The OEDIPUS REX production team includes a host of NYC-based Antioch College alumni, including assistant director Alessandra DeMeo ‘87; set designer Michael Casselli ’87 (relocated to YSO); mask designer Lynda White ’88; and musician Jeff Wood ‘88.

The weeklong workshop series, MAKE THEATRE ANYWHERE, runs from Friday, August 13, to Thursday, August 19. Participants will meet nightly to explore the skills necessary to create a show and to perform it anywhere. The workshop culminates in the creation of a 15-minute production that will be performed in the Amphitheater as a companion piece to OEDIPUS REX. The workshops will be from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The cost is $35 for the entire week. The workshops will be conducted on campus at Antioch College.

To join the production of OEDIPUS REX or to inquire about MAKE THEATRE ANYWHERE, write to fauxrealtheatre or call 917-687-4998.

Interim President Matthew Derr, Major Gifts Officer Eric Miller, Trustee Barbara Winslow and Arthur Morgan Fellows Beverly Rodgers and Jean Gregorek joined 100 alumni and friends of Antioch College in NYC to celebrate and have an open conversation about programs and curriculum ideas moving forward toward a new, revitalized, independent College.  It was wonderful to see a whole range of alumni ranging from the Class of ’42 to the Class of ’08.

An audio recording of the meeting should be available soon.  Please check back later for information.

We missed some people for the sign-in process and didn’t get complete information from everyone who did sign-in to the meeting, but for those who expressed an interest in knowing, here’s what we have for attendees by decade:
1940s – 2
1950s – 17
1960s – 15
1970s – 15
1980s – 6
1990s – 7
2000s – 11

It’s vitally important now at this early ramp-up stage that alumni and friends contribute at least a small amount to the College because we need to dramatically increase our alumni participation numbers.  The percentage of participating alumni has an enormous effect on large scale fundraising/support efforts and really can mean the difference between success and failure of this venture to re-open Antioch College as a vibrant liberal arts institution.  Please give what you can and ask all those you know to do the same.  Reconnect with old friends and inspire them to reconnect with Antioch College.

SUPPORT ANTIOCH COLLEGE – Antioch College Alumni Association – CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Please come celebrate our hard won independence of Antioch College!!! WE DID IT!!! The Vitruvian A rises again!

Matthew Derr (Chief Transition Officer) and Morgan Fellows Beverly Rodgers and Jean Gregorek will be in NYC to make some presentations, answer some questions, celebrate and socialize with us.

Our meeting will be in the Assembly Hall in the basement of Judson Memorial Church near Washington Square Park. We have had meetings there before so you may remember it.

239 Thompson Street
(between West 3rd and Washington Square South. The door is in the middle of the block)

SUBWAY
A,B,C,D,E,F,V to W4
R,W to 8th St/NYU
6 to Astor Place
PATH train to 9th Street

** STARTING PROMPTLY AT 7pm **
We can begin arriving at 6:30, but to maximize our time, please plan accordingly and arrive on time.

We will have light snacks and refreshments, but feel free to bring a little non-messy snack or beverage if you like.

Fully ADA accessible with elevator, but unfortunately no internet connectivity.

EVENT PAGE ON FACEBOOK:

www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=176465533054

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AUDIO RECORDING OF THE 7/27 NYC CHAPTER MEETING:
http://listen.antiochians.org/2009/07/28/ny-alumni-chapter-meeting-072709

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MONDAY July 27
7:15 – 10pm
273 Bowery
University Settlement at the Houston Street Center
2nd Floor, Classroom #1

*** PLEASE BE PUNCTUAL ***
~ we can arrive no earlier than 7pm and must cleaned up and gone by 10pm ~

http://tinyurl.com/7-27-nyc – view the invitation on Facebook

The boards of Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) have unanimously voted in favor of a set of definitive agreements for the creation of an independent Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, including the transfer of the campus and endowment.

Lee Morgan ’66, Chair of the ACCC Transition Task Force, Matthew Derr ’89, Chief Transition Officer for the ACCC and Aimee Maruyama ’96, Director of Alumni Relations, will be in NYC to celebrate with us, give us details and field questions.

Please pass along to all NYC area alums you know.

We’ll pass the hat to help offset the cost of renting the meeting space.

It would be helpful to all if everyone read these articles before coming to the meeting:
YS NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT TRANSITION
http://www.ysnews.com/stories/2009/07/070909_antioch.html
GLCA PRESS RELEASE
http://www.glca.org/?news=169

Getting to the meeting by subway:
F,V – 2 Av/Lower East Side
B,D,F,V – Broadway/Lafayette
6 – Bleecker Stree
R,W – Prince Street
J,M,Z – Bowery

Meeting Minutes
NYC Antioch College Community Chapter
November 12, 2008
153 W. 119th Street  New York, NY
——————————————————————————————–
Meeting started at 7:30
Attending: Matthew Derr, Calista Hendrickson, David Ottaviano, Susan Opotow, Donald Davidson, Noreen Dean Dresser, Jeff Wood, Harold Calhoun, Janet Goldner, Lynda White, Victoria Hochberg (from Los Angeles), Aaron Gruenberg
- – -

Matthew Derr — member of the Task Force and the Antioch College Board Pro-Tem — presented the latest developments to the group and took questions.  Except where noted, the following is a summary of Derr’s comments.

“We [Antiochians] were all trained to support causes and Alma Mater was not a cause that we identified with…if anything has come out of this last year, the College is now a cause.  We identify with it now in a way that we probably would not have if this terrible event [closure by the University] had not unfolded in the way that it has.”

OPENING
The Task Force is creating an agreement to separate Antioch College from Antioch University and has been working since July.  Derr is confident the process will go well and thinks we may be mere weeks from an agreement, adding that if an agreement is reached soon that Antioch College should be re-opened and running by 2010 (“I can’t imagine any later than that”).

BOARD PRO-TEM
To avoid the snare of creating yet another corporate entity the Board Pro-Tem has assumed the incorporation of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (AC3).
The Board Pro-Tem has said it will not speak until there is a college. There are 14 members presently, eventually expected to be 20-25 people. Lee Morgan is chairperson, and as of yet there are no bylaws. The Board Pro-Tem is geared to thinking post-separation, and recognizes that time is of the essence and so is prepared to act in a timely manner once an agreement is reached.

The finances of the separation must remain confidential at this time.
The College endowment has many YSO restricted covenants.
The University needs a solution as much as the College and has worked on a separation concept for some time.

THE NAME “ANTIOCH COLLEGE”
Several NYC alums expressed apprehension that Antioch College and the University might remain interlocked by virtue of sharing the name and firmly stated that the College should own the name as opposed to just licensing the name from the University. Concerns were expressed that the moral and financial confusion of sharing the name could sap our future efforts. Coordination/management of name sharing should be well thought out. Derr said he has never heard a University board member express an interest in not allowing us to use the name “Antioch College”.  Derr mentioned that the Great Lakes College Association has been helpful here and that the University efforts to “protect” the name through threatening legal action is standard practice for those seeking to keep a name fully protected.

“After separation, the University will be the least of our problems,” said Derr.

OPPORTUNITIES AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
American higher education may now have a break-down moment such as the one Antioch College has experienced. However, Antioch College is now essentially free of debt. The nature of our style in the areas of academics, social change, work and community position us well for the future.  Nonstop Institute faculty and students have found their way and are “in charge of their own fates.”

When the College opens, it will be small. “I remain concerned that the College cannot come back as an anemic place” so the Board Pro-Tem is disinclined to start with small faculty salaries because they are morally indefensible.

There is a “low cost niche” for a college like Antioch.  Other colleges may have overbuilt (ie, in-suite bathrooms, academically unnecessary and extravagant facilities) and a crisis in higher education is imminent with the economic downturn. The future question will be where does frugality stop and poverty start. The Board Pro-Tem wants the new college to reflect the mission as it is traditionally understood.

The campus, Glen Helen, and name will be included in Antioch College.

The potential for lawsuits did not play a role in forcing the University to constructively negotiate. Derr said the University board is not monolithic and some are truly saddened by the events of the last year.

The separation process has lasted so long partly due to inadequate legal advice.  “It would be very difficult for Antioch College if the University were to fail.”

Fund raising needs a business plan.

COMMUNICATIONS
Derr said he’d like to see NYC chapter communicate with other NYC alumni. Active communication bears significant meaning for University and the College.

Several NYC alums criticized the CRF and Alumni Association for failing to communicate with chapters as well as failing on the public relations front. Several NYC alums said it was often hard to get information and a response.

Derr in response said we have to change a “culture of criticism”, adding that there was no paid communications staff.

Several NYC alums continued to cite the insufficiencies in the communications area as a critical failure that is resulting in loss of interest of alumni and allies.  Derr says that he will take these communications concerns to YSO on Monday 11/17 and the NYC Chapter should write directly to Nancy Crow and Ellen Borgerson requesting that a paid Communications position be created. Derr also suggested NYC raising money for a Communications position to make clear our concerns to the Board Pro-Tem.

Might publicity work be a future NYC effort? In the current holding pattern there is frustration for several NYC alums on this public relations front.  Interest was expressed for contacting the Brian Lehrer show for publicity.

INVENT-A-COLLEGE
Alums expressed concern that there has been no reporting by the Alumni Association or CRF follow-up of the Invent/Create a College meeting at Earlham in the 5 weeks since it occurred. Derr said the GLCA completed its report on October 20, and it should be up on the website.

CLOSING
Derr’s 3 Most Important Things to keep in mind:
1) the imminent separation of the College from the University,
2) alums have to be prepared for the next stage,
3) money/fundraising will be crucial in the near future.

Meeting adjourned 9:50

Minutes compiled by Harold Calhoun & Jeff Wood

Please join us for a status report from and a chance to ask questions of Matthew Derr (member of the Antioch College Board Pro-Tem and Alumni Association representative on the Task Force to separate Antioch College from Antioch University) who will be in NYC on Wednesday 11/12.

When: Wednesday November 12, 2008.
Arrive at 7:00pm; Start time 7:30pm sharp
Location:  153 West 119th Street
(Between Lenox Ave and 7th Ave — 2 or 3 subway to 116th)

To best utilize our time at the meeting, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with
the Pro-Tem Board and Task Force via the following links.

Info about the Pro-Tem Board:
http://tinyurl.com/59wsnl
http://tinyurl.com/68zvqt
Info about the Task Force:
http://tinyurl.com/57zw2m
http://tinyurl.com/5qkwvf

NYC Antioch College Community Chapter
Election Night Party — 8pm til ?

An informal, loose, agenda-free evening for us NYC Antiochians.  No fundraising, no chapter business – just a chance for us to get together on what will prove to be an auspicious night in American history.  As Antiochians, you know we’ll have plenty to say, regardless of the outcome!

The Edge Bar has welcomed us to join them with an enthusiastic “we will be watching (with the sound on) and would love the company! “  So while this won’t be exclusively an Antioch gathering, it will be great
to be out en masse for the night. We hope to see you!

The Edge Bar
(212) 477-2940
95 East 3rd Street (between 1st Av and 2nd Av)
New York City, NY 10003
TRAIN: F/V to Lower East Side/2 Av

NEXT CHAPTER MEETING:

October 13, 2008
Arrive at 7:00pm; Start time 7:30pm sharp
153 West 119th Street
(Between Lenox Ave and 7th Ave — 2 or 3 subway to 116th)

NYC Antioch College Community Chapter presents
“SCRAPPY UNDERDOG WINES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE”
– a wine tasting event to benefit the College Revival Fund –

WHEN: Friday, September 19th, 2008
7:00 – 9:30 pm
LOCATION: Bob Rock Studio
873 Broadway
NY, NY 10003
(west side of the street just above East 18th Street)
COST: $150.00 per person

An invitation to all alumni, friends and future friends of Antioch College:

Please join us for an evening of wine tasting to benefit the College Revival Fund during the “Nonstop Rocks” national fundraising weekend. Antioch College alum David Ramm will be leading the tasting in a beautiful and spacious photography studio, located in a fully accessible building near Union Square.

We will taste eight wines from around the world, many of them from organically or biodynamically farmed vineyards, all of them from people unwilling to bow to the wine world’s prevailing wisdom. Released into a market that demands sameness and quietly forgives manipulation, these handcrafted wines offer brilliant specificity, distilling the place, time, people, and traditions that produced them into approachable, compelling wines for everyday meals and special occasions.

Experienced wine tasters will discover little-heralded and often underpriced wineries and wine regions, while people with limited formal tasting experience will be given an unusual but well-grounded starting point for a lifetime’s exploration.

ABOUT DAVID RAMM: Having first tasted wine in Yellow Springs at the home of music professor John Ronsheim, David went on to take Ronsheim’s Art, Wine, and the Five Senses course and from there set to working in the wine business in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina. He has taught dozens of wine appreciation classes for businesses and private groups and as an instructor in Duke University’s continuing education division. He is currently the editor-in-chief of AMS Press, a small, scrappy scholarly publishing company based in Brooklyn.

For anyone who had the privilege of being in one of John Ronsheim’s classes, you know the lasting impression he left on all of our lives. We will raise our glasses in his honor this evening.

In order to maintain the integrity of the experience we are limiting the tasting to 25 people.

RSVP required by Wednesday, September 18th, 2008

RSVP to antioch.nyc with complete address, email and phone contact information to reserve your space.
We cannot guarantee your RSVP without this information.
Payment can be made by check, credit card or cash.
We will follow-up with payment instructions and confirmation once you have RSVP’d
As this is a fundraising event, no refunds will be given unless the event itself is cancelled.

For more information on the College Revival Fund: www.antiochians.org

NYC Antioch College Community Chapter
September 15, 2008 — 7:00pm

Participants:
David Ramm, Nicole, Lynda White, Eric Miller (from CRF), Janet Goldner,  Aaron Gruenberg, Sarah Silliman, Jeff Wood, Susan Opotow,  Judy Church

ERIC MILLER presents – (major gifts officer for the CRF)
•    Here in NYC to meet with donors and prospects this week
•    Present for this meeting + will be at the wine tasting fundraiser
•    Was a co-op advisor for 10 years (1998-08)
•    Responsibilities=major gifts i.e. donors that can give large amounts

THE CRF NEEDS TO TELL ALUMNI THAT THE CHAPTERS EXIST — TARGETED MAILINGS NECESSARY FOR MAJOR AREAS LIKE NYC, LA, CHICAGO

OPEN DISCUSSION ON NECESSITY OF DOING MEDIA IN NYC
•    Counter the narrative that Antioch died – it’s not dead!
•    Antioch is not dead, it’s still moving, the story that we have members like Noreen Dresser, Communications, AC3, ACAA Legal, etc.  – Maybe this is the local story.  The story that we can write is that Antioch, a small college in Ohio produced this group of people.
*** We’re individuals in New York, and look what we’re doing!
*** And then there are those people in Yellow Springs, look at what they’re doing!

TELLING OUR STORY – THE NYC MEDIA PROJECT
•    Janet Goldner – art – send your thoughts to her about how Antioch is alive and active in NYC
•    She will be collecting ideas for the story, will put it together and then create an outline
•    DEADLINE IS 2 WEEKS FROM 9/15 FOR FIRST ROUND OF INPUT TO JANET

WINE TASTING – this Friday (19th) – invite your friends!

OPEN DISCUSSION ON CHAPTER BUILDING
•    How can we get more people involved in the Chapter?  Any member of NYC chat can access the list member emails to contact them and encourage participation
•    We may be able to get help with one mailing every six months from CRF

NOREEN DEAN DRESSER UPDATE ON THE BUILDINGS
•   October 1st committee, trying to get the heating on at 45 degrees to keep from freezing
•    Now that they’ve turned off all the heat, etc. drained the buildings, we have an issue
•    Noreen went to YS, interviewed a lot of people, spoke with the village,
•    Went to NH, participated as an observer in the facilities meeting, and listened to the fact that they were draining the buildings, etc.
•    Sharon Merriman – on the facilities committee for the University Board of Trustees – village of YS has been contacted and will be invited to tour the buildings – also cced Ohio Historical Society, National Historical Society – Merriman got very specific language to ask from Tom Faecke, to sign, to get full accountability from Tom – The letter requires full accountability
•    Tom Feake – Chief Financial Officer of the University
•    This makes it a public hearing, public files, with testimonials
•    Every BoT member that we can keep fully informed with factual information is to our advantage
•    Has there been any result for eminent domain for the Village?  It’s expensive and a long process.
•    Another alarming bit of news from Gerry Bello regarding fire alarms on campus.  Fire alarm ringing on Main Bldg did not send direct message to Fire Dept.  Where is the University and Task Force on this?

SUMMARY

•    Suggestion to CRF to post job titles online
•   BETTER AND MORE TIMELY COMMUNICATIONS FROM CRF (College Revival Fund) NEEDED.
•   Janet Goldner will begin to solicit ideas/contributions to the press release (story ideas are above) – Francine Horowitz
•    David Ramm – will send a personal note on the wine tasting – DONE
•    Jeff Wood – will resend the wine tasting email – DONE
•    Need to make a clear connection between this chapter and the CRF
•    Jeff Wood – will put facebook page up – make other people administrators to invite people on – DONE
•    Sarah Silliman will work on developing/consolidating lists (expanding new york alum and getting physical addresses)
•    Vanessa McDonnell said that she would work on being a link (communications) between NY Alum and Non-Stop
•    Noreen Dean Dresser is interested in generating a Non-Stop or Antioch wine (work w/David Ramm)

NEXT MEETING IS SET FOR OCTOBER 13, 2008 at Noreen Dean Dresser’s in Harlem.

MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10pm