EVENTS CALENDAR

ELLEN BARRY has appeared in nearly 100 classical and contemporary roles in NYC and at regional theatres across the country. A graduate of Northwestern University (where Candace and Raye Birk were classmates!) she also has wide experience behind the scenes as stage manager, development/ marketing consultant and script reader for Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional productions. Ellen and her late husband, Paul Barry, founded the NJ Shakespeare Festival (now Shakespeare Theatre of NJ). During their 27-year tenure, nearly 200 plays were presented, including all of Shakespeare's canon and other works from Sophocles to Stoppard. Ellen's North Hall appearances over many years have included her one-woman shows Lizzie Borden at Eight O'Clock, The Infinite Variety of Shakespeare's Women, readings of numerous plays, and last year's inaugural Story Cafe.

CANDACE BARRETT BIRK has been involved in many facets of the arts community throughout her career as actor, teacher, director, and administrator. She has been a member of several theater companies including the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the American Conservatory Theatre, the Chester Theatre Company and the Guthrie Theater. She was the Director of the Young Conservatory at A.C.T.; the Founder and Director of The Academy of Theater and Media Arts in San Francisco; the Executive Director of the Children's Museum of Los Angeles; and the Director of Mythica: The Center for World Mythology. She is delighted to be returning to North Hall for a third season.

RAYE BIRK is delighted to be back at North Hall and bring The Story Cafe to the North Hall community for the 2nd year. He has worked in regional theatres throughout the country; including playing leading roles for 9 seasons with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and 15 seasons at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Productions have included The Sunshine Boys, The Crucible, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Othello, A Delicate Balance, Faith Healer, Pride and Prejudice, 1776, The Great Gatsby, The Winter's Tale, Pygmalion, Macbeth and over 500 performances as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. He appeared with Mark Rylance in New York and London's West End production of Nice Fish. He has appeared locally in two productions at the Chester Theatre, Curve of Departure and To The Moon and Back. During his 20 years in Los Angeles he appeared in nearly 150 television shows, including recurring roles on LA Law, The Wonder Years, Coach, Cheers, Golden Girls, Babylon 5, X-Files, Seinfeld, and Star Trek. His feature films include Naked Gun, Doc Hollywood, Throw Mamma from the Train, The War of the Roses, North Country and A Serious Man.

EMILY EVERETT is an editor and writer from western Massachusetts. Her debut novel All That Life Can Afford is the Reese's Book Club pick for April 2025, out now from Putnam Books. Everett grew up on her parents' dairy farm in Williamsburg, studied English and music at Smith College, and earned an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Modern Love column, the Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review. Her story Solitaria was first runner-up in the Kenyon Review's Short Fiction Contest, and another story, Osterizer Classic Series 10 Cycle Blender was selected for Best Small Fictions 2020. She is managing editor at The Common literary magazine in Amherst, and a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction.

TOSH FOERSTER grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and has been acting and performing stand-up comedy since graduating Amherst High School in 2016. In addition to performing in plays such as When Last We Flew and The Glass Menagerie, Tosh worked with his father and director, Rand Foerster, on the one man show Johnny Got His Gun. As well as acting in on-stage performances, Tosh has appeared in music videos and short films over the years and is excited to make his return to Western Mass as a narrator for Story Cafe.

KIM KEOUGH (She/Her), received her BA in English from Mount Holyoke College. Her poetry and photography has appeared in Meat for Tea: The Valley Review. She is the former director of Voices from Inside, a writing program for incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated women. She lives in Williamsburg.

BARBARA LUCEY, a Holyoke native, has been writing since producing her first play at age 9. She is the author of Meet Jimmy Fox for young readers, with illustrations by Nancy Haver, from Gallery of Readers Press. Her fiction has appeared in a dozen anthologies and she was awarded an OCARC writer's residency in a Provincetown dune shack. After spending her young working life in film production, she specialized in nonprofit financial management at The Food Bank of Western Mass and the Five College consortium and is now a part-time nonprofit financial consultant and editor. She loves to sing jazz standards.

DEREK PAAR, making his second appearance in Story Cafe, is a psychologist. Twenty-five years ago he realized that literature, in many ways, does a better job of understanding what it means to be human, so he switched from writing academic essays to short stories, novels, and a travel memoir, God Bless America and Breakfast Burritos to Go, that was published December 2022. His short stories have been published in Meat for Tea, Blue Nib, Aethelon, and Voices. He is on the Board of Directors of Straw Dog Writers Guild in Northampton, Massachusetts and was a columnist for the Massachusetts Psychological Association Quarterly. He lives in Western Massachusetts, has two grown children, Chelsea and Nick, and a grandson, Wyatt.

CHRISTOPHER J. STARKS is a writer, historian, and web strategist. He is a historian on Northampton State Hospital and author of Minotaur, a memoir in progress. His work blends narrative history with personal reflection, and his research has been featured in local historical archives.

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Randy Noojin has acted in hundreds of plays regionally and in New York at Circle Repertory, La Mama E.T.C., Circle-in-the-Square, Nylon Fusion and The Drilling Company. On television, Randy has appeared on Boardwalk Empire, and in the films Molly’s Game, Courier X, and Expire.

He was nominated for a Best Actor AriZoni Award for his performance of Martin in Edward Albee’s THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA at Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix, directed by Marshall W. Mason.  He has played Hank Williams in numerous productions of HANK WILLIAMS: LOST HIGHWAY, including at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Mill Mountain Playhouse and New Stage in MS.  He holds an MFA in Performance from Arizona State University.

Randy also holds an MFA from The University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop; his play BOAZ was commissioned and produced at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville; YOU CAN’T TRUST THE MALE was produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Marathon 1991; UNBEATABLE HAROLD was commissioned by Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, the film version premiered on Showtime, starring Dylan McDermott, Phyllis Diller, Gladys Knight and Charles Durning. Other plays include THE COMPLAINT, THE KNIFE TRICK, and MRS. HANK.

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Jack and his mother Muriel have a good relationship. Every few weeks he drops by and brings groceries, and they catch up. But today, something doesn’t seem quite right; and as he and Muriel banter, a lot of things come out into the open — things they haven’t talked about in all these years. Veering back and forth between comedy and tragedy, Jack and Muriel find themselves in the midst of a life-altering conversation.

PJ ADZIMA

PJ Adzima is currently playing the role of Elder McKinley in The Book of Mormon on Broadway, after appearing in both the Australian company and the National Tour. He is the host/creator of Stage Time, a weekly downtown variety show in residency on the lower east side. He does not sleep. Additional Credits: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Girls5Eva, Madam Secretary, The Good Fight, FBI: Most Wanted, Girl Haunts Boy, & The Wake by John Patrick Shanley. Upcoming: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Relay. @PJAdz

ELLEN BARRY

Ellen Barry has appeared in nearly 100 classical and contemporary roles in NYC and at regional theatres including the WorkShop, Century Center, and White Horse (NYC); McCarter (NJ), New Century and Majestic (MA), Syracuse Stage (NY), Boarshead (MI), St. Michael’s (VT) and Southern Stage (LA). For Violet in August: Osage County she received the NOLA Big Easy Best Leading Actress Award; Detroit Free Press named her Best Leading Actress for Vivian Bearing in Wit and for Ella in Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman she received an Off-Off Broadway Award. Other favorite roles have been Tennessee Williams’ Maggie, Blanche, Stella, and Hannah; Shakespeare’s Hermione, Constance, and Juliet; Martha in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Meg and Lorraine in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, and Katherine in Terrence McNally’s A Perfect Ganesh. Ellen and her late husband, Paul Barry, founded the NJ Shakespeare Festival (now Shakespeare Theatre of NJ). During their 27-year tenure, nearly 200 plays were presented, including all 38 in the Shakespeare canon and works by other authors from Sophocles to Stoppard. Ellen is delighted to be working again with dear friends Mitch Giannunzio and Ken Tigar, author and director of her one-woman show, Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock, which premiered at North Hall before its successful NYC run and subsequent performances around the tri-state area. Other North Hall appearances over many years have included another one-woman show, The Infinite Variety of Shakespeare’s Women, and last summer’s Story Cafe with fellow Northwestern University graduates Candace and Raye Birk.

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As a duo, Hartka and Lezcano were praised by American Record Guide for their collaboration: “Hartka and Lezcano play off against each other in a subtle but effective unity of rubato relationships that brings off the sonatas with a personality that catches the ears and holds them” (D. Moore, American Record Guide). The Duo has performed together since 2014 nationally and international in venues such as the Longy School of Music, the Mariposa Museum, Saint Gaudens, Dartmouth’s Vaughan Series, the Mohawk concerts, the Arts Block, and the Tedx stage. Specializing in repertoire and collaborations that cross cultures, Duo Mundo performed most recently with indigenous Ecuadorian musician Inti Cachimuel at the Nubanusit Neighborhood in Peterborough, NH. In 2019 and 2020 the Duo toured in Yucatán Mexico, which included a performance at Centro Cultural La Cúpula in Merida, as well as collaborations with indigenous Mayan Musicians. In March 2017 the duo performed and gave master classes in Havana, Cuba through the invitation of UNEAC for the Cello Festival of Havana. Their first recording was released in fall 2017 on Becsta Records. Michael Johnson said of the CD in Facts and Arts that it “displays a high degree of heart and total control” and that he was “captivated by the virtuosity”.

In 2023 Duo Mundo became Trio Mundo with the addition of violinist Robert Lehman, “a sensitive musician, with a technique up to just about anything” (Portland Press Herald). Robert Lehmann has performed through the US, Europe and his native Mexico. He is Professor of Music at the University of Southern Maine and Music Director of the North Shore Philharmonic, Maine State Ballet and WMMA Bach Festival. The trio has performed throughout Maine and New Hampshire.

For more information and to listen, visit this webpage
https://cello-medicine.com/duo-mundo/

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KIMBERLY FIGUEROA

Kimberly Figueroa has played in the Western MA area for the last 15 years. She is a member of the Tuesday Morning Music Club and an active member of South Congregational, where you can hear her play frequently in seasonal events and during Sunday morning worship. Kim works as a career professional at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

NANCY MILLER

Nancy Miller has performed locally on both flute and piccolo as part of the Old Post Road Orchestra of Wilbraham as well as the Seven Hills Orchestra of Worcester. She performs with Meadow Flutes on piccolo, C flute as well as alto and bass flutes. Nancy also plays for local retirement homes, assisted living and nursing homes and for many churches throughout Massachusetts. She believes that music has the power to enrich and brighten our lives, no matter what age we are. Nancy has been working in the Western Mass community for over 40 years as an insurance agent.

ANDREA TAUPIER

Andrea Taupier has performed locally as part of the Zephyr Woodwind Quintet, with the Old Post Road Orchestra, at various churches, in several theater pit orchestras and with the Hampshire Choral Society. She is a founding member of the Meadow Flutes, playing alto and bass flute in addition to C flute. While pursuing a degree in history at St. Olaf College, Andrea discovered that it is possible to hold a full-time job and maintain a long-time relationship with music. She recently retired as Library Director at Springfield College and lives in Longmeadow.

LYNN WINSOR

Lynn Winsor holds a B.M. degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music. She has taught at the Community Music School in Springfield and been associated with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, Hampshire Choral Society, Hilltown Choral Society and numerous chamber ensembles throughout the area. She is a founding member of Meadow Flutes, playing piccolo, C flute and alto flute. Lynn has been living and teaching in Western Mass for 30 years.

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ANTONIO ABATE

Tenor Antonio Abate is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music where he received both a bachelors degree and a graduate diploma. Hailed for his diction, paired with his ability to sing in multiple languages, Mr. Abate is considered a go-to performer for some of the top religious institutions in NewYork and New England. In opera, his major credits include the title roles in Faust and Offenbac’s Orphée Aux Enfers, Ottavio in DonGiovanni, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Andrew Johnson in The Mother of Us All, and the Student Servant in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’s Heloise and Abelard, Sam in Street Scene. Mr. Abate has performed at the Ravinia Steans Institute; the Marlboro, Bowdoin, and Aspen Music Festivals; and attended the young artist programs through Opera North and the Chautauqua Music School. For three summers he studied and performed at the Music Academy of the West in SantaBarbara, California under the tutelage of world renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. A resident of Chatham MA, Antonio has most recently been heard in concerts in Brewster, Chatham, and Dennis. This fall will bring performances in Western Massachusetts and South Carolina.

AMY ORSULAK

Soprano Amy Orsulak is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. She has had the honor of singing on the stage of the Met, Chicago Lyric Opera, Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space. Hailed as “having the voice of an angel” by her mom she is thrilled to be performing with her friends.

JEROME TAN

Pianist Jerome Tan, a native of Singapore, came to the U.S. on a music scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned masters degrees in piano performance and ensemble arts. He has served as a staff pianist at the Steans Institute of the Ravinia Festival. Since receiving the Marilyn Horne Foundation Award for Vocal Collaboration from the Music Academy of the West, he has become a regular collaborator with many singers. Notable engagements include both The Song Continues and On Wings of Song programs in New York, and a birthday gala in honor of Miss Horne at Carnegie Hall as well accompanist for singers at the L’Academie musicale de Villecroze in southern France.

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Some of the performers:

RON JACKSON

Ron Jackson (guitar), a retired life insurance executive and Lt. Col. in the USAF/ANG, honed his love of country music on Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, and so many others. However, the biggest influence to shape his country music love was his uncle Fred, who came back from WWII playing guitar and singing country music. An accordion player by trade, in his mid-teens, Ron was playing in local Honky Tonks with area country bands. In his retirement years, he thanks his wife, Gail, for allowing him to live out his dream of playing good, old country and bluegrass music with his friends.

DAN PILACHOSKI

Dan Pilachowski (flat picked guitar) was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, a hotbed of bluegrass music in the 60s and 70s. He became familiar withthe music when he got a hold of a guitar at age twelve.One of his mentors was the late Pudge Warfield, a noted lead guitarist from Martinsburg, WVA. Attending bluegrass festivals in Berryville, VA and Indian Springs, MD helped to hone his skills on the guitar and in bluegrass music in general. In 1980 Dan moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts and one weekend he attended the One Day In May Bluegrass Festival in Granby at Dufresne Recreation Area. There he met and befriended Dave Helman, the festival organizer andfellow Marylander. Later Dan became one of the founding members of the East Mountain Ramblers along with Dave and his son Daniel. He has played inseveral other groups including the Good Samaritan Singers. He is also a sought after lead and rhythm guitar player at any area jam session.

DAVE HELMAN

Dave Helman (bass) wears many hats and is lovingly called ”Mister Bluegrass of Western Mass” by his wife Rose. He was born in West Virginia, grew up in Western Maryland, and was influenced by the country musicians in his neighborhood and by the records his mother had in her collection. Dave’s mom thought he was upstairs sleeping when in fact he was listening to Lee Moore The Coffee Drinkin’ Night Hawk on his midnight to dawn radio show on WWVA in Wheeling, WVA,. and Wayne Rainey on WCKY in Cincinnati. Dave eventually met his radio mentor Lee Moore and hired him to perform at some of his functions. His Uncle Sam brought him up to Massachusetts to Westover AFB in Chicopee in 1962 for a stint and was married here in 1966. Still listening to country and bluegrass and collecting records he discovered the Country Blues and Bluegrass show on WMUA at the University of Massachusetts. Upon calling the show one Sunday afternoon he was able to eventually become one of the deejays there which was a life-long dream. In 1983 a move was made to his current position at WTCC at Springfield Technical Community College with his Country Corner Show featuring vintage country and bluegrass on Saturdays. Dave has been instrumental in the promotion of the One Day In May BG Festival, Bluegrass At Buttery Brook, the Country Corner Coffee House concert series as well as being an MC, promoter and sound engineer. The bass is his instrument and he has played with several bands over the years which include the East Mountain Ramblers, The Cowtippers, Dan Helman and Marking Time and The Good Samaritan Singers.

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