Building off of the success of last year’s inaugural
standing-room only event, SWAN Day Dayton 2013 will be held on Saturday March
30th at 2pm at the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch Auditorium at 215 E. Third
St. Join artists and community members
in a celebration of Ohio female artists. The showcase is free and includes
films, poetry, plays, music, dance, short stories, visual arts and door prizes.
Featured artists include photographer Bonnie Adams Brestelli,
filmmakers Ursula, Gabrielle, Jennifer, Charity, and Maria Burton of Fiver
Sisters Productions, R&B singer and songwriter Adriane Caffey, poet
Elizabeth Cantonwine Schmidt, actor Daniel Cermak, collage and mixed media
artist Laura Ceville, actor Whitney Davis,
filmmaker Rani Deighe Crowe, theatre director and actor Andy Falter, actor
Dan Foley, illustrator Sarah Fortener, spoken word artist and rapper Kim
Gerhold, color pencil artist Janyce Denise Glasper, theatre director Daniel Grigg, portrait
artist Terri Melia Hamlin, actor Elizabeth Harelik, author Sandra J. Kachurek, singer and songwriter Marianne Kelser, Kilbourne
Drama Club members Mason Althouse, Jocelyn Decker, Sophie Decker, Camryn
Johnson, Adi Kinzer, Leah Kinzer, Audrey MacKenzie, Sabrina Ramsey and Meghan
Weinle, Knotwork Flutes flautists
Jessica Arriola, Diane Stroud and Barb Tucker, surreal self-portrait photographer Ellie
Lane, playwright Stacey Lane, painter
Crystal Leisure, singer, songwriter and guitarist Talianna LeVangie, sketch
comedy filmmaker Alex Mangen, dancer and choreographer Crystal Michelle, painter
Heather Lea Reid, filmmaker Eric Risher, poet and author Maranda Russell, poet Claudia Skutar, filmmaker Alex Taylor,
actor Jocelyn Tanis, mixed media artist Karen Webb and actor Jacob Wright.
SWAN Day Dayton is produced by Dara Cosby and Stacey Lane and
is co-sponsored by the Dayton Metro Library and Joy Schwab. This event is part
of an international celebration of women artists taking place on the last
Saturday of Women’s History Month. There have been over 900 SWAN Day events in
23 countries in the first five years of SWAN Day.
Mason
is an eighth grader at Kilbourne Middle School.
Mason’s stage roles include parts in The
Odyssey, 54 People ‘LIKE’ This,
and FLASHBACK! He served as student director for the 2012-13
KMS season and enjoys reading and playing the trumpet.
Jessica Arriola (Flutezalad
Suite: Music)
Jessica Arriola has played the
flute for many musicals in the last seven years. She is a member of the Richmond
Community Orchestra, the Eaton Community Band and Knotwork Flute Trio.
Charity Burton (The Happiest Day of His Life: Film)
Adriane
Caffey is 22 years old. She has been
singing since she was six and began recording music at eighteen. Adriane has
performed in front of a lot of crowds and has the passion to take it further in
the future. She love music: it’s a part of her. She hangs on to her love for
music because it is always with her.
Daniel
is a senior at Thomas Worthington High School. He has been in theatre for six
years and has loved all of the friends he’s made and opportunities he has been
given. He plays percussion in concert and marching band and is a varsity tennis
player. Roles include: Rick in The Nerd
and the donut in Stacey Lane’s Stalemate,
performed at last year’s SWAN festival.
He plans to attend the University of Akron next fall.
Dara Cosby (Co-Producer)
Dara
Cosby is a graduate of Wright State University’s Motion Picture program.
She has written reviews for film and
television. Some recent work has been as a casting assistant on the feature
film,
True Nature and script
supervisor for
FreshMouth 2020 and
the web series,
Freak Club. Dara has
also obtained a master’s degree in Community Counseling from University of
Dayton, in hopes to use film and media to help others.
Whitney Davis (Door Prize Coordinator,
Pet Names: Play)
Whitney
Davis is a 2012 Lake Forest College Graduate with a B.A. in Theater. She
appeared in
Snow White and the Paramedic
as Snow White,
The Vagina Monologues
as The Flood,
The House of Benarda Alba
as Prudencia,
Splendor in the Grass as
Angelina,
Fiddler on the Roof as
Yente and more. Prior to college, she attended Stivers School for the Arts and
is happy to be back in the Dayton area.
Jocelyn Decker (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Jocelyn
is a ninth grader at Thomas Worthington High School.
She co-wrote and performed in
Gossip
Squirrels, which premiered at last year’s Dayton SWAN festival. Jocelyn has
received the Patriots’ Pen award for writing skills and is currently writing
her first novel.
Sophie Decker (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Sophie
is a seventh grader at Kilbourne Middle School. She has been in
FLASHBACK! and
The Music Man Jr. She also performed in
Gossip Squirrels and Stacey Lane’s
Stalemate, both performed at last year’s Dayton SWAN festival. She
enjoys horseback riding and reading in her free time.
Rani Deighe Crowe (
Beautiful Eyes: Film)
Actor,
writer, director from Dayton, Ohio area, Rani is discovering new performance
and storytelling space in film.
Recent
work the Spoon River Saga for the public art installation, The Telephone Booth
Project, performing her Julia Child character in nontraditional venues
directing the Kurt Vonnegut text of Igor Stravinksy's A Soldier's Tale in
collaboration with Columbus Symphony musicians, collaborating with
choreographer Melissa Heston on Les Jeux D'Amour for Contemporary Dance
Theater's Choreographers Without Companies in Cincinnati.
http://beautifuleyesfilm.blogspot.com/
Andy Falter (
Flashback to Girl Scouts,
Alien
to Antiquity: Plays)
Andy
is a longtime actor and director based in Columbus, Ohio.
He has been seen on stages and screens
throughout the United States. This school year marks his thirteenth year
teaching theatre in Worthington City Schools.
He is thrilled to work again with his friend, Stacey Lane.
He is particularly excited to feature current
and alumni members from Kilbourne Middle School in Dayton's celebration of
SWAN.
Five Sisters Productions (
The Happiest Day of His Life: Film)
Five
Sisters Productions is a film company run by the Burton sisters. Their
award-winning films have played on Starz, Showtime, AMC, WE Channel, MTV and
Netflix. They also make PSAs and social issue-related commercials. Their
current film in production is Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, a feature-length
documentary on the fluidity of gender identity as seen through the window of
drag queens and kings in Columbus, Ohio.
www.fivesisters.com
Dan Foley (
Pet Names: Play)
Dan
Foley began his career in the community theatre at age 6. His earlier work
included
Our Town,
The Wiz and
South Pacific. Once out of high school he dabbled in film, guest
staring on WB’s
Blue Collar T.V. and
landing a role in
School Daze, a
mini-series shot in Beijing. He studied theatre at Sinclair and Saginaw Valley
State and is currently in his senior year of a Film Degree at Full Sail
University.
Sarah Fortener (Meka: Gouache, Colored Pencil, and Ink Pen Illustration)
A
recent graduate of the University of Dayton, with a BFA degree, her concentrations
are in painting, drawing, and illustration.
www.sarahfortener.wix.com/flyerswork
Kim Gerhold (
I Came to Be and
Rise:
Spoken Word and Rap Music)
Kim
has been writing and performing positive socially conscious rap and spoken word
for over 8 years and is working on her second CD.
Kim had 3 songs nominated for positive music
awards in 2011, winning an award in social justice. Kim has one song published
in a 2009 songbook. Using life experience and a passion for creating change,
her goal is to touch the spirit, bring people together and promote positive
action and change.
J
anyce Denise Glasper (
To Relax Or Not To Relax: Colored Pencil
Drawing)
Janyce
Denise Glasper, graduate of Colonel White High School for the Arts and the Art
Academy of Cincinnati (BFA emphasis in drawing), is a freelance artist, writer,
poet, feminist, and vegan blogger creating enthralling pieces of stylized,
figurative portraiture primarily in oil pastels, acrylic paints, colored
pencil, and litho crayon that insert and beautify the absent African American
aesthetic into sensual romanticist themes incited from stimulating historical
romance novel reading and afternoon soap opera dalliances.
Terri Melia Hamlin (
Luminous,
Moody and
Sleepyhead:
Colored Pencil Paintings)
Terri
Melia Hamlin believes that God gives each of us a gift. She has been blessed
with talent for art. She tries to honor this gift with the art that she does.
Motherhood has also been such a blessing, so she combines the two, into
statements on the beauty and wonder of childhood. Commercial work and portraits
have been a part of her resume, which she enjoys as well.
www.meliaarts.com
Elizabeth Harelik (
Alien to Antiquity: Play)
Elizabeth
is a first-year PhD student in the Ohio State Department of Theatre.
She is originally from Wilmette, Illinois,
and received a BA from Tufts University in Drama and English.
She has been involved in many shows in Wilmette,
Boston, and Columbus both on and offstage, and is incredibly excited to be
involved with SWAN this year!
Camryn Johnson (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Camryn
is an eighth grader at Kilbourne Middle School.
Camryn was featured as Miss Hannigan in
Annie, Rumpelstiltskin in
Rumpelstiltskin,
and various roles in
FLASHBACK! She
enjoys lacrosse and spends entirely too much time shopping online.
Sandra J. Kachurek (
In a Swirl of Lights: Short Story)
Two
biographies,
Francisco Pizarro and
George W. Bush, published in 2004 for
elementary and middle school students marked her entry into professional
writing.
Kachurek earned third place in
the Antioch Writers' Workshop/Dayton Daily News Short Story Contest in 2011. The
first chapter of her mermaid novel was a finalist for SWAN Day last year. She
belongs to WriteShop, a professional science fiction/fantasy writers' group in
Columbus.
http://sandrakachurek.wordpress.com/
Marianne Kesler (
Pear in the
Pink Thing: Pre-show, Intermission and Post-show Music)
Marianne is an acoustic
singer-songwriter and performer currently in a season of writing ... both
songs, and free verse poetry/prose! She is working on the third of a book
trilogy ~
the say something series ~
that features one word titles and her own photography alongside each of 15
pieces per book. Books can be ordered through
www.blurb.com, and her music is
available online at
www.cdbaby.com and
www.itunes.com.
www.mariannekesler.com
Adi Kinzer (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Adi
is a ninth grader at Thomas Worthington High School.
She co-wrote and performed in
Gossip Squirrels, which premiered at
last year’s Dayton SWAN festival.
She is
also in concert and marching band.
Leah Kinzer (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Leah
is a seventh grader at Kilbourne Middle School.
She was featured in
FLASHBACK!
and
High School Musical.
Leah has participated in Broadway2LA’s summer
camps and classes. She plays saxophone and was “Flag Holder Number Four” in her
first grade opera.
Knotwork Flutes (
Flutezalad Suite: Music)
Knotwork
Flutes was founded in 2002 with 25 members. The group played at venues
including Central Ohio Flute Association Conventions at OSU, Preble County
Historical Society, Wright Dunbar Historic District, Ohio Statehouse, Greene
County Pioneer Festival, Preble County Pork Festival, local churches and
festivals. In 2010, the group downsized. Now Knotwork Flutes performs with 4
of the original members.
They specialize
in Celtic, Christian, Pops and Folk music.
Ellie Lane (
In This Haze of Green and Gold and Other Works:
Surreal Self-Portrait Photography)
Ellie
Lane is a native Daytonian who began pursuing photography in early 2012, after
modeling for a year. Her specialty is emotive self-portrait photography, but
she has recently begun to photograph local and traveling models. Between
chasing her darling niece and serving her three mischievous cats, Ellie is
currently embarking upon a 52-week self-portrait project.
www.facebook.com/ellielaneimagery
Stacey Lane (Producer,
Cold, Pet Names,
Alien to Antiquity:
Plays)
Lane’s
plays have been seen at 300 theatres in the U.S., Canada, England, Australia,
and New Zealand and are published with Dramatic Publishing, Eldridge,
Playscripts Inc., Pioneer, Smith and Kraus, Heuer, Brookyln Publishers, Next
Stage Press, Manhattan Theatre Source, JAC Publishing, San Luis Obispo Little
Theatre, Sterling, Freshwater, Poydras Review, the Quotable, Indian Ink, Steel
Bananas and Scene4.
She’s received
grants from the Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District and the Helene
Wurlitzer Foundation.
www.StaceyLaneInk.com
Crystal Leisure (
The Abdominal Snowman and
The
Ghost Birthday: Acrylic Painting)
Crystal
Leisure is a well-known low brow artist from the Dayton area that focuses on
illustration. She started drawing at age two. Continuing to grow and work
diligently with colored pencil, chalk pastel and ink. At fifteen she attended
the Dayton Art Institute where she painted and discovered a love for acrylic.
She’s created album covers and custom work for private collectors. Her work can
be viewed on her blog and art page.
www.crystalleisureart.carbonmade.com
www.crystalleisureart.blogspot.com
Talianna LeVangie (
On Me: Music)
Talianna
LeVangie is a 14-year-old singer/songwriter from Cincinnati, Ohio.
She picked up her first guitar when she was
10, and with her grandmother's mentoring, played the Middletown, Ohio Blues
& Bike Festival just 1 week later. Since then, Talianna is almost never
without a pick in her hand and a pencil and notebook. She is currently working
on original songs for her debut CD and recently auditioned for the new season
of America's Got Talent.
https://www.facebook.com/taliannal?fref=ts
Audrey MacKenzie (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Audrey
is an eighth grader at Kilbourne Middle School. She was featured in
Annie,
The Odyssey,
54 People ‘LIKE’
This, and
FLASHBACK! She participated in Camp MADD, (Music, Arts,
Dance, Drama) and assists with costume design and creation for her mother.
Alex Mangen (
The Veterinarian’s Office: Film)
Since
earning a Motion Picture Productions degree from Wright State, Alex has worked
on several feature films, music videos, television, and commercials.
He has written and directed sketches for
LeftofCenterComedy.com whose sketches have been licensed by MTV, CW, and played
at numerous film festivals.
He was
awarded a grant from Culture Works for the Arts.
Alex is currently a Director of Film Studies
at Stivers and is in production for his next sketch comedy show.
Crystal Michelle (
Boxing Up Beautiful: Dance)
Crystal
Michelle is a choreographer and performer with a BFA in Dance Performance from
Southern Methodist University.
Presently
she is in her final year of graduate studies in the Department of Dance at The
Ohio State University. Her current research engages themes of embodiment for
women in contemporary performance; with her most recent project focusing on the
historical practices of black women’s bodies in popular culture entertainment.
Sabrina Ramsey (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Sabrina
is an eighth grader at Kilbourne Middle School. She was featured in
The Odyssey,
54 People ‘LIKE’ This, and
FLASHBACK! She sings and plays guitar, flute and piano.
Heather Lea Reid (Poster & Program
Designer,
Sphere & Other Works:
Acrylic on Fabric & Wood)
Heather
Lea Reid's artwork is born out of a love of personality and pattern. The
resulting subject matter is a mixture of figurative and pattern/design.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wright
State University with her BFA and will begin graduate study Fall 2013.
She lives in Dayton with her partner and
daughter.
https://www.facebook.com/artworkbyheatherleareid
Eric Risher (
In With the New: Film)
Eric
was born in Canton, Ohio, where he integrated himself into the performing arts.
He developed an affinity for video editing and moved to Dayton to pursue an
education in filmmaking. With a passion for narrative and documentary alike,
Eric seeks to explore themes of identity through his work.
Maranda Russell (
What She Was and
The Day My
Sister Died: Poetry)
Maranda
Russell is a 30-year-old foster parent, book reviewer, children’s writer, poet
and writing teacher. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators (SCBWI) and has been awarded several awards and honors for her
writings. She spends most of her time reading, writing, hanging out with her
family, playing with her 5 cats and doing fun author events. For more
information about Maranda and her published books, visit
www.marandarussell.com.
Chelley Seibert (
Rise: Music)
Chelley has been a TRU member since 2009, starting out as a
conga player then becoming "The Police Officer" back-up singer for Martin
Luther King celebrations in Dayton. Chelley now serves as part time choir
director, back-up singer and soloist and creates original songs. Chelley received
her music education degree at Miami University and marched in the World
Champion Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. Chelley is a member of the
acoustic band Frozen Feet.
Claudia Skutar (
Scion: Poetry)
Claudia
Skutar is a poet, essayist, and English professor at the University of
Cincinnati Blue Ash College. Her work has appeared in Red Cedar Review,
National Writers Union YMCA Writers’ Voice Project, Express Cincinnati
and Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great
Lakes. She’s served as a critic for the Greater Cincinnati Writers League and
done workshops and readings at Michigan State, University of Cincinnati, Wright
State, Blue Ash Recreation Center, Starfire and Mallard Cove.
Diane Stroud (
Flutezalad Suite: Music)
Diane started playing flute at age 9. Her solo debut was in
her school Christmas program. She played through high school with Marching,
Concert and Pep Bands and liturgical choir. During college, she played at worship
services and flute choir. Now Diane plays with choirs at her church and Knotwork.
Diane is a busy mom of 2 musical sons, Andrew (flute) and Kevin (trumpet) and
works as Graphic Designer/Resource Editor for One More Soul.
Alex Taylor (
In With the New: Film)
Born
and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Alex received a BFA in Motion Picture
Production from Wright State University. There, Alex produced several films and
fulfilled a bevy of crew roles on additional productions. He views film as a
synthesis of his passions: acting, music, and photography.
Barb Tucker (
Flutezalad Suite:
Music)
Growing up in a professional
musical family instilled Barb’s love for music. She played in the NCR Concert
Band and the Ohio State Youth Orchestra.
She spent 8 years singing gospel music. After raising two children
(quite talented musicians), Barb founded Miami Rivers Flute Band, Knotwork and Festival
of Flutes. You will find Barb behind the counter at Hauer Music when she's not
playing flute in the Eaton Area Community Band or at her church.
Karen Webb (
Desert Beauty,
Kylie, Lola
& Emery and
Starry Night: Multi-Media
Art Work)
Karen
has lived in the Dayton area for over 40 years. Her interest in art started at
a young age, and throughout the years she has tried numerous mediums to express
herself. In this exhibit you will see some acrylic painting, collage, colored
pencil drawing, felting, and paper marbling. Her style is as diverse as her
talents. You will see realistic paintings, as well as abstract designs.
metalartxpressions.com.
Meghan Weinle (
Flashback to Girl Scouts: Play)
Meghan
is an eighth grader at Kilbourne Middle School.
She has been featured in
Gossip Squirrels at last year’s SWAN
Festival, had roles in
FLASHBACK!,
played Helen of Troy
in
The Odyssey and Annie in
Annie.
Other plays she participated in include
Rumpelstiltskin and
54 People
‘LIKE’ This. Meghan plays the flute
and enjoys singing.
Jacob Wright (
Cold: Play)
Seventeen
year-old Jacob Wright is currently a junior at Archbishop Alter High School in
Kettering. Since the first grade, he has been a part of nine theater
productions, notably the Genie in
Aladdin.
Jacob has also appeared in two
films. In his spare time, he will often star in, film and edit videos. Jacob is
most interested in comedic acting, specifically, improvisation.
FINALISTS
Our
selection committee was overwhelmed with the talent of Ohio's women. One
afternoon of SWAN Day just isn't enough to showcase this much creativity. We
wish to give special recognition to our finalists.
PERFORMING AND LITERARY ARTS
Tracy
Ryan Edwards:
Eulogy for a Modern Day
Jekyll and Hyde:
Essay
Brianna
Gessert:
An Artist’s Lament: Letter
Danielle
Harlow:
All the Days: Short Story
jerjonji
(Jeri Fay Maynard):
Panda Girl: YA
Novel Excerpt
Marianne
Kesler:
Mercy: Free Verse
VISUAL ARTS
Shulamit
H. Adler, Ph.D.:
Dayton Celebrates Women,
Women Celebrate Dayton: Photography
Kitana
Kuhn:
Mask of Womanhood: Ceramics
