Tuesday, May 14, 2013
A local man compiled clips from 29 films shot in Pittsburgh turned them into a music video that has gone viral.
From Silence of the Lambs to Dark Knight Rises to Jack Reacher, Pittsburgh has been the backdrop to more than two dozen Hollywood films. Mt. Lebanon native Aron Zelkonwicz, who grew up watching many of those films, decided to take it one step further by gathering iconic Pittsburgh scenes from 29 films shot in Pittsburgh and compiling them into a music video. “I thought it would be fun,” he told KDKA'S John Shumway. “I had seen all these movies filmed in Pittsburgh and thought why not take the parts everyone wants to see, the shots of Pittsburgh, and put those together.” His labor of love took weeks, in between rehearsals and performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony where he plays the cello. The music is a piece from the “Pirates of the …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Congratulations to Woodland Hills!
Woodland Hills High School's "Young Frankenstein" cast and crew is headed to the Benedum once more this year. The production has been nominated for several Gene Kelly Awards. The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater recognize and encourage musical theater and arts education, according to the CLO website. The organization gives out the annual awards in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh. Modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards and held at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh, the award ceremony features live performances from the best actor and best actress nominees, as well as those up for best musical. Nominees are from schools in Allegheny County. About 30 schools—including Woodland Hills—…
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Heidi McDonald, game designer at Schell Games, received the honor.
A Swissvale resident has received an award in gaming. Heidi McDonald, a game designer at Schell Games, was honored with the Rising Star award at this year’s Women in Gaming event held at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March. McDonald—a mother of three and a former Edgewood councilwoman, musician, event planner and writer—has been working in the gaming industry for about two years. She writes dialogue for video games and works with the voice actors for games at Schell, which is based on Pittsburgh's South Side. McDonald said she was surprised to have received the award. "I was pretty floored to get the award," she said. "It was 'awarded to the woman who has made the biggest impact on the gaming industry in less than two …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
The free event will take place at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.
The East End Choral Festival is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, May 5 at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church on South Highland Avenue. The festival will feature combined choirs from East Liberty Presbyterian, Shadyside Presbyterian, Calvary Episcopal and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Churches, with David Hill as the guest conductor. The combined choirs will sing music of Gerald Finzi (God Is Gone Up), Benjamin Britten (Rejoice in the Lamb) and Randall Thompson (The Peaceable Kingdom). For more information about the East End Choral Festival please contact Dr. Edward Alan Moore at EdM@coh.net or 412-441-3800, ext. 24.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Check out these photos and videos from the school's play.
Students at East Catholic School in Forest Hills showed off their acting skills for the community and their classmates last weekend. This year's Shakespeare production of "Much Ado About Nothing" featured the school's sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. In an Italian setting, singing and dancing add to the excitement of the interactions of heroes, villains, and quarreling lovers. Words and actions are misinterpreted as new groups of people meet. A funeral is held for someone who has not really died, and weddings end this play in true Shakespearean form. ______________________ "Like" Patch on Facebook. | Follow us on Twitter. | Sign up for our daily email newsletter.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The Woodland Hills musical brings the scariest comedy to the stage.
Woodland Hills High School's spring musical "Young Frankenstein" is coming alive beginning this weekend! The school's department of performing arts presents the show on April 26 and 27, and May 2 to May 4 at 8 p.m. Saturday matinees will be at 1. Tickets cost $12. The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. A parody of the horror film genre, this monster new musical is comedy in which Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, a young neurosurgeon, inherits the Transylvanian castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. Senior Marika Countouris is playing the role of Elizabeth Benning, Frederick Frankenstein's fiancee. "She only likes …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Fred Applegate, musical theater actor, visited the young cast.
Woodland Hills High School musical cast members got some tips from a pro last week. Fred Applegate—an American actor, singer and dancer—surprised students while he was in town performing in the "Anything Goes" national tour. Applegate is an original cast member of "Young Frankenstein," this year's Woodland Hills musical. Applegate played the roles of Inspector Kemp and the Blind Hermit. Students gave him a sneak peek of what they've been working on, performing several of the musical's numbers. "The energy was great," he said. "This is so exciting." Applegate, in turn, offered them advice. "Do stuff," he said. "If you have the opportunity to perform, do it. " Forest Hills-Regent Square Patch will have a musical preview later this week. Stay…
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The event in Regent Square is scheduled for April 11.
Pittsburgh-based documentary filmmaker Lauren Knapp will be giving two screenings and presentations of her forthcoming documentary “LIVE FROM UB" about the Mongolian rock music scene. One of the events will take place from 8 to 9 p.m. on April 11 at Biddle's Escape in Regent Square. The other is set from noon to 1 p.m. on April 10 in Posvar Hall at the University of Pittsburgh. The documentary explores how Mongolian rock music played a role in the country’s development as a new democracy over the past 20 years and how a new generation of Mongolians are creating a new kind of Mongolian rock. Knapp spent nearly a year living in Mongolia conducting research and filming interviews with Mongolia’s top rock and pop musicians. She created more …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Dancers from Shovlin Academy of Irish Dance competed March 29 in the 2013 World Irish Dance Championship.
Dancers from Shovlin Academy of Irish Dance took their talents from a studio in Dormont Municipal Center to the world stage last weekend. The troupe performed at the 2013 World Irish Dance Championship in Boston, and placed ninth out of 13 groups. Instructor Sheila Shovlin created and choreographed the narrative drama the troupe performed—a unique performance, considering that many competitors at the Championship perform solo, rather than in a group. Shovlin's sister, instructor Liz Shovlin Grinko, said considering the level of competition the troupe was up against, ninth place is not bad at all. "They were very happy with that," she said. "We were competing with dancers from higher brackets who were there for solos as well, so you had …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
The first year for Churchill Recreation Board's 'Churchill Impressions' photo contest drew a number of entries that reflect the natural beauty of the borough.
From the misty "Original Church on the Hill" to a tree reflected in Chalfant Run as it meanders through Bullock Pens Park, Churchill's amateur photographers captured the beauty of the borough they call home for the first Churchill Impressions photo contest. Residents entered some 50 photos in the contest, which Bonnie Pantlik, a Churchill councilwoman, organized for the Churchill Recreation Board. The contest, inspired by a Murrysville community event, provided an opportunity for residents to share their talents and add to the borough’s historic collection of photos. A ceremony was held earlier this month at the borough building to announce the winners and display the entries. Kathy Yearick earned first prize for “Original Church on the …
Tina Bullen
6:28 pm on Friday, May 10, 2013
Three weekends would be wonderful !!! Tom Crone , the cast and crew are simply the best at producing high school musical theater. We are fortunate to have a touch of broadway in Woodland Hills. Best Wishes to the cast and crew of Young Frankenstein as the Kelly Awards approaches. more ›