Hoffman Center Blog

Come audition on Wednesday, September 28th from 5 to 8 p.m.

It’s Back!

The Hoffman Center’s first Community Talent Showcase held in January was such a success, we’re going to stage another one on Saturday, October 1st at 7 p.m. We’re encouraging everyone to consider auditioning for this fun event. In addition to musicians and singers, we’re looking for actors, dancers, jugglers, maybe even baton twirlers to strut their stuff.

Auditions will be held Wednesday, September 28th from 5 to 8 p.m. A panel of judges will select 12 to 15 acts that show a particular skill or originality to fill a fun evening. Individual acts should be appropriate for all ages and about five minutes long.

The general public will be invited to the Community Talent Showcase for a $10 admission. All proceeds will go to the Hoffman Center‘s operating budget.

Click here for a talent showperformer registration form and bring it to the audition. Questions can be e-mailed to hoffmancenter@nehalemtel.net or phoned to 503-368-3846.

Miriam Gershow leads short story workshop

Join us Saturday, September 17, 2011, from 11 to 130pm to learn how to write and publish short stories.

Spend the first half of the workshop using writing prompts to generate short story ideas. The second half will focus on how and where to place your short fiction. The fee for the workshop is $25.

Miriam Gershow is a novelist, short story writer and teacher. Her stories appear in The Georgia Review, Quarterly West, Black Warrior Review, Nimrod International Journal, The Journal, and Gulf Coast, among other journals. Miriam’s stories have been listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories of The Best American Short Stories 2007 and appeared in the 2008 Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories.

Miriam is the recipient of a Fiction Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, as well as an Oregon Literary Fellowship.

She received her MFA from the University of Oregon. She taught fiction writing at the University of Wisconsin as well as descriptive writing to gifted high school students through Johns Hopkins University. She currently lives in Eugene with her husband and son, where she writes and teaches writing at the University of Oregon.

Saturday evening, Gershow will read from her new novel, The Local News, at 7pm at the Manzanita Writers’ Series at the Hoffman Center.

To register for the workshop, download the registration form here.

Click here for the 2011 Schedule.   If you’re planning to attend the workshop, contact vwildauer@gmail.com.  Contact Kathie Hightower at (503) 739-1505 or kathie@jumpintolife.net for more information.

With a cast of 13 children ages 4-12, ranging from beginners to seasoned performers, dancers and singers. Under the wing of Director, Annie Naranjo-Rivera, the cast has put together this “whimsical” version ofPeter Pan, complete with pirates, fairies, mermaids, and more!

The production features original choreography. The members of the cast will have had 3 weeks of rehearsals, including designing and constructing the sets, props and costumes. This is a performance not to be missed!

Admission is $10 for evening shows, and $5 for the daytime show.  Advance tickets are available at Cloud & Leaf and Moxie’s.

SHOW TIMES:

Wed, August 24 – 6:00 pm

Thur, August 25 – 11:00 am

Fri, August 26 – 6:00 pm

Sun, August 28 – 6:00 pm

Mon, August 29 – 6:00 pm

Tue, August 30 6:00 pm (earlier time!)

Thursday, Sunday and Monday performances will include a talk back with the actors where the audience can ask questions.

Announcing two letterpress workshops in August:

LETTERPRESS FUNDAMENTALS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 11-4

$60

prerequisites: none

By designing and printing a poster together, participants in this class will learn typesetting of both metal and wood moveable type, hand inking technique, shop procedure, and operation of the Vandercook no. 2 galley proof press (& the badass 26″ Chandler and Price lever paper cutter!). We will also cover basic typography, some printing history. & a little color theory. Participants will thereafter be qualified to use the proof press– perfect for printing linoleum and wood image blocks as well as type– on their own during open studio hours.

INTERMEDIATE LETTERPRESS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8  (NEW DATE)

$80

prerequisites: Letterpress Fundamentals or instructor approval

This class is for those who have taken Letterpress Fundamentals (or ANY workshop from Sarah Archer in the past) and would like to learn to operate the Chandler and Price platen job press (or refresh their muscle memory). By designing and printing a postcard together, participants will advance their typesetting skills and learn to lock up the form, pack & ink the press, & troubleshoot until achieving ideal registration and impression. Participants will go home with an edition of at least 20 beautiful postcards and will thereafter be qualified to use the job press for their own projects during open studio hours.

To register or for more information, contact Sarah Archer

accidentalpress (at) gmail.com

(503) 739-1939

http://accidentalpress.com/peoplesprint

On Saturday, August 27, the Manzanita Film Series will show “D.O.A.” at 7:30 pm. It has been called by one reviewer “a high-concept movie before its time”.

A film noir drama, directed by Rudolph Maté, is considered a classic of the genre. The frantically paced plot revolves around a doomed man’s quest to find out who has poisoned him – and why – before he dies.

This film explores the question of what you might do if you were to meet your own killer.

There will be a short discussion about the movie at the end. Come for the popcorn. and a classic film on the silver screen. $7 Suggested donation.

Jennifer Lauck to lead Memoir Intensive Workshop in Manzanita

A handful of select writers will be fully immersed in instruction and inspiration with Jennifer Lauck, New York Times Bestselling author of Blackbird, Still Waters, Show Me the Way, and Found.

• Learn the three main components of memoir writing:  scene, summary & rumination so you can write a book that is compelling and sellable.
• Learn Jennifer’s method for finishing a full-length manuscript in less than three months so you don’t waste time.
• Learn how to set and keep writing goals so you can actually finish your book.
• Learn what it takes to get published so you can realize your dream of being an author.

Dates/Times:  Aug 26, 27, & 28th ~ Fri 6-10pm, Sat/Sun 10-4

Location:  Manzanita (Saturday and Sunday at the Hoffman Center, 594 Laneda Ave)

Limit:  12 writers

Details/availability/schedule/cost:  503.235.5254 or jclauck@gmail.com

jenniferlauckmemoirwriting.com

Coming Friday, September 2nd, the Portland-area band Harlowe and The Great North Woods will be presenting their own twist on West Coast Americana. Opening the show is Manzanita singer-songwriter Bunny Frost. $5 at the door. Show starts at 8:00 p.m.

To check out their music go to

http://www.myspace.com/harloweandthegreatnorthwoods

Naseem Rakha reads on Saturday, August 20

Naseem Rakha will read from her book The Crying Tree at the Manzanita Writers Series event at 7 pm on Saturday, August 20, 2011.

Set in southern Illinois and central Oregon, The Crying Tree tells a story of a mother who must overcome the hate, grief, and secrets that surround the murder of her 15-year-old son, and defy church and family as she attempts to stop the execution of the man who killed her boy.

With the heart of a storyteller, Naseem explores the death penalty and forgiveness with her audience through the lens of our justice system as well as subsequent interviews with crime victims, inmates, corrections officials and exonerated death row prisoners.

Publisher’s Weekly says, “This complex, layered story of a family’s journey toward justice and forgiveness comes together through spellbinding storytelling.”

The American Booksellers Association chose The Crying Tree for its TOP 10 Indie Next list for Reading Groups <http://news.bookweb.org/news/winter-2010-2011-indie-next-list-reading-groups> . The book has been published in six international editions.

Naseem is an award-winning author and journalist whose stories have been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace Radio, Christian Science Monitor, and Living on Earth. She lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and many animals.

Following Rakha’s reading and Q&A, we’ll have our popular Open Mic where up to nine local writers will read 5 minutes of their original work. The recommended theme for this month is “Forgiveness.”

Admission for the evening is $5.

Further information on the Writers’ Series can be found here or contact Kathie Hightower, 503-739-1505 or Vera Wildauer at vwildauer@gmail.com.

Our first  Hoffapalooza, held Saturday, July 23, 2011 was conceived as an opportunity to show off the wide variety of programs that go on at the Hoffman Center, and to show them off all at once. In a six-hour timespan we had hundreds of people come through the building. A frequent comment, even from full-locals, was, “I had no idea there was this much going on.” It was great to hear that. It meant we were successful.

Check the gallery for some photos of the big day.

The Hoffman Center’s Manzanita Film Series will present the classic 1941 feature “The Maltese Falcon” Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. Admission will be $7. Refreshments will be available.

The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. It was directed by John Huston and based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Film Series leader Jonathan Feder will offer commentary before and after the presentation.