#princeton

People are sometimes shocked when I tell them I’ve lived in some comparatively bizarre places like Accra, the capitol of Ghana and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They give me a blank stare tinged with confusion as if to say, “but why?” After this summer, I can now say that Princeton, New Jersey feels no less bizarre.

When I first moved to Princeton, I felt like I was living on the movie set for Pleasantville or Leave It To Beaver. The hedges are trimmed, the lawns manicured, the flowers in bloom, the birds chirping. Children play in front yards and there are ice cream stores on every block. People smile as they drive by, call out greetings to their neighbors. They even stop for you when you’re walking.

It was a hard transition from Jaffa to Princeton. I hated it at first. I missed the noise of Jaffa, the music of Jaffa, the people of Jaffa. I missed the pounding subwoofers and the call to prayer, the people yelling from their windows, the nightly fireworks, the horses interspersed with cars. I missed hearing tangles of Hebrew and Arabic and English. Princeton could not have felt further away. Everything is clean and quiet and controlled, and everyone is whiter than White-Out. 

But once I started to settle in, I began to really see Princeton. It’s pretty. I forgot how pretty trees are. It’s nice to bike around without someone almost running you over at every corner. And the people are real. The ice cream stores are only outnumbered by liquor stores. I heard a neighbor threatening to call the police over her next-door neighbor’s dog continually shitting on her front stoop. That’s real life and I like that.

I won’t miss living in Princeton but do appreciate the reminder of the value in a deeper look.  Onto Philly and then next stop, Brooklyn. Stay tuned.

I miss it. I didn’t think I would miss it this much but I do.

I miss the diversity even if no one got along. Everyone here is white. I mean white. Waspo Americana White.

I miss the trashcats. Squirrels now look emaciated to me.

I miss the burekas and the beach and the sand that got everywhere.

I miss the jingle at supershuk. Now I get lost in massive grocery stores with aisles only for ice cream. I miss the variety of barely distinguishable dairy products, that dairy and fruits and vegetables actually tasted like something, that the pitas filled the bags with condensation.

I miss that everyone’s all up in each other’s business because that’s what they do. I don’t like that everyone here ignores each other, that houses are so far apart.

I miss the shouts of NAHAGGGG to open the back door, the tachless and the dugri and the davka, telling it like it is.

I miss the Call to Prayer. It is so quiet here. Way too quiet.

I miss hearing Hebrew. A lot. I miss the linguistic jumping jacks flipping between languages. I hate that I get excited when I see it now because it’s no longer part of my everyday life.

I miss that my toothpaste said “Happy and Kosher Passover,” that they served blintzes in the hospital and have a menorah in the airport.

I miss it. Romanticizing a bit? Of course.

Onto the next chapter. Ok, Princeton. Let’s see what you can do.

• 4.5/5.0
• im so pleased that i read this text when i did… its been in my library for years… or rather at the commencement of my journey for sure either gifted or a charm picked up in a bin somewhere. i really needed to read this book at this time in my life, it was a lovely reminder to keep a positive outlook & meditation as often as possible & the most high is so ever abundant despite suffering experienced. bhakti tirtha swami is the definition of dope… it was interesting to read the perspective of a devout spiritualist who also had consciousness of himself as a black king. his dedication & determination to his path was truly inspiring. highly suggest that anyone with even a mild interest in spirituality read this text. for sure one of my new favorite pisces.  
• i would suggest purchasing this text. it’s a book I would want my children to read. 

The “baked goods” section at Reeves Farm farmers market. Princeton, Texas. Opening weekend for this season. We stop by here almost every weekend unless our plans take us in another direction. Great place run by great people.. We bought some sandwich rolls, a cinnamon roll to share, and some tomatoes.

McCarter is excited to welcome two international music superstars this week: violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Ludovico Einaudi! Read this note from Special Programming Director Bill Lockwood about when he first discovered each of these musicians and their upcoming visits to Princeton.

I first heard Joshua Bell when he was a teenager playing at Carnegie Hall, which is probably longer than either of us cares to remember. But even then, everybody knew he was destined to reach the heights. His first McCarter appearance was in 1991 and luckily for us he has remained loyal to our audiences ever since, returning regularly to our stage, most recently in 2013 (footnote: for several years, his partner at the keyboard was Jeremy Denk, who comes to McCarter this season in a solo recital on May 1). At this point, there is very little I can say about Josh that has not already said many times over and far more eloquently. Suffice it to say that not since the heyday of Itzhak Perlman has any American violinist so captured the attention of not just the music audience, but of the public at large, in much the same fashion as Lang Lang and Yo-Yo Ma. Soloist? Chamber musician? Recording artist? TV star? He’s done and continues to do it all, including conducting, where he finishes his tenure this season as music director of London’s Academy of St Martin in the Fields (succeeding the legendary Sir Neville Marriner). His recital program with pianist Alessio Bax is vintage Bell: Mendelssohn, Grieg (how often do we hear his sonatas?) and Brahms.

Ludovico Enaudi may not be as well-known yet  in the U.S. as Josh, but his “cult” is ever-growing (although it may never reach the level of his new-age superstardom in the U.K., where he is the biggest streamed classical artist ever, with two million monthly listeners on Spotify). When I first discovered him for myself last year at NYU’s Skirball Center, his two concerts were both SRO (as was his only New York concert earlier this week at the Beacon Theatre). How to describe him? Enaudi is basically a pianist, but his style is informed by minimalist, ambient, world, and rock elements, incorporating guitar, electronics, and percussion—talk about crossing genres. Each part of his music has a precise relation to the others and the elements naturally harmonize acoustic, electric, and electronic sounds. He puts it this way: “If it wasn’t music, it would be a map of thoughts—points, lines, shapes, fragments of an ongoing flow.” And while you think you’ve never heard Enaudi’s music, you have: as part of twenty film scores and soundtracks (including Black Swan); or as part of the soundscape for TV commercials from Nissan, American Airlines, Nike, and even the NBA finals.

- William W. Lockwood, Jr.,McCarter Special Programming Director

For tickets and more information about Joshua Bell and Ludovico Einaudi, visit mccarter.org

McCarter is so much more than what you see on our stages. Dozens of arts professionals are hard at work every day making a difference in the lives of others. This is the first is a series of short interviews with McCarter staff, where they discuss their backgrounds, their work, and their professional passions. We recently sat down with Mary Gragen from our Education and Engagement Department.

What do you do at McCarter? I am the education projects manager here at McCarter. My primary responsibilities are for scheduling, logistics, and production-related activities of programs including in-school/community residencies, afterschool classes and summer camps. This includes working with internal and external partners to schedule projects and programs, contracting teaching artists and designers, managing the design and delivery of production elements. I also just generally provide support to the students and teaching artists where and when needed.

Where are you from? Where do you live now? My father was in the Navy so we traveled quite a bit when I was young (Georgia, New Mexico, Hawaii). We settled in Connecticut and I spent most of my childhood there. I now live in Highland Park, NJ.

Where did you go to school, and what did you study? My BA in English is from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and my MFA is in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut.

What attracted you to McCarter Theatre Center? As I started working in the New Jersey theater circuit, I understood that McCarter was known for its groundbreaking works and high-caliber productions. I distinctly remember coming to see The Winter’s Tale in 2013(?) and being incredibly impressed with richness of the performance. 

What projects are you currently working on in your position? We are currently working with several different community partners for our residency program including DOVES juvenile detention facility, Homefront, and Princeton Community Housing. We are also have an on-going relationship with both the Trenton and Princeton school districts for our in-school residency programs.

How has your work inspired you? One of the most rewarding parts of my position at McCarter is my work with the DOVES juvenile detention facility and the Homefront campus for at-risk families in Mercer County. Classes with these community partners in particular have shown me how a meaningful theater experience can lift the soul and create change.

What is your favorite project that you have worked on thus far? Tough one. There have been a lot of highlights. I think most recently, I loved seeing the creative and collaborative spirit of our high school intensive class during summer camp this year. They were part of a musical called Alien 8 developed by David Lee White and Kate Brennan. The students were able to make suggestions to the content and have input on their characters and truly embraced the theme of gender fluidity/identity in the show. It was so powerful to see that they weren’t just performing these characters but they truly believed in the message of equality and understanding in the piece. It was just beautiful.

What’s your favorite way to de-stress? I just recently picked up knitting again and watching I’ve been watching the new Twin Peaks, so that’s been helpful. I also love to snuggle/play/laugh with my two sons and my husband.

Learn more about McCarter’s Education programs at mccarter.org/education.

When I first learned that Michael Shannon would be appearing in McCarter’s Berlind Theatre in Sam Shepard’s Simpatico(now through October 15), I determined on the spot that we should also reference his significant film career while he was here in residence, especially since I had shown two of his very best as part of the Second Chance Film Series I used to curate for the Princeton Adult School. So in collaboration with Princeton’s Garden Theatre, McCarter will be screening 99 Homes (2015) this Saturday, September 23 at 4pm, followed by a discussion between me and Chris Collier (of the Garden) and a special guest appearance by Michael himself.

Michael Shannon has appeared in over 80 films in a career that started when he was a teenager, usually as a featured actor in a role that you remember afterwards, but don’t necessarily recall his name (like Nocturnal AnimalsandMidnight Special, to name two recent examples, or even as General Zod in the blockbuster Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice). But every now and then, he gets to play the central character with his name above the title, as was the case with 99 Homes—a film that is just as topical today as it was when it was first released in 2015. Shannon is Rick Carver, a realtor in Orlando, whose specialty is not selling properties, but seizing those occupied by foreclosed owners. His co-star is another of my favorite actors, Andrew Garfield (The Social Network,The Amazing Spiderman2, and the recent but sadly overlooked Hacksaw Ridge), who plays a Florida handyman whom Rick recruits to assist in his foreclosure racket.

99 Homes is a harrowing morality tale, with Shannon channeling a reptilian Gordon Gekko. Director Ramin Bahrani is interested in how material circumstances can affect our moral decisions, and how the need for money, security, and status can force terrible choices on people. And for a totally different side of Shannon’s gallery of intense and often unhinged characters, you should also try and catch 2012’s Take Shelter, written and directed by his favorite collaborator Jeff Nichols, which the Garden Theatre will be screening on September 28.

To bring Michael Shannon fans up to date, his newest film, The Shape of Water, just won the Golden Lion (first prize) at the Venice International Film Festival last month, so look for it in theaters this winter. And for TV viewers who still can’t quite remember where they’ve seen him before, let me remind you: the 56 episodes of Boardwalk Empire (2010-14) where his portrayal of the conflicted FBI agent Nelson Van Alden remains indelibly etched in our memories.

William W. Lockwood, Jr.
McCarter Special Programming Director

The screening of99 Homes will take place on Saturday, September 23 at 4pm at McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place in Princeton, NJ. For tickets and more information, visit www.mccarter.org