The Sounds of Silents Film Screening with Peter Tavalin

Free Film Screening 

Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

Pianist and composer Peter Tavalin will bring an iconic silent film to life with a score improvised and performed live during a free film screening of the classic silent film Steamboat Bill, Jr.

In the 1928 comedy starring Buster Keaton, two college students return to the South after attending college in Boston and fall in love despite both of their fathers’ objections. The couple’s romance goes awry with prat falls, floods, a tornado, and other slapstick adventures. The film includes Keaton’s most famous and dangerous stunt when the entire two-ton façade of a house crashes to the ground around him while he stands in the precise location of an open second-story window.

No tickets or reservations are required for the film screening. There is limited parking at the Takoma Park Community Center or in the adjacent Piney Branch Elementary School parking lot.

Local resident Peter Tavalin has improvised live scores for more than 25 silent films during the past 30 years and has performed at film festivals, First Night celebrations, universities, and public schools across the country. Trained at the Berklee College of Music, he plays a synthesizer to create a modern sensibility that conveys the sounds of an entire orchestra.

“The synthesizer provides a big palette of sounds,” he said. “Simple, sweet strings with a flute for one scene, brass blaring for another with cymbals crashing when the action on the screen gets more frantic.”

Steamboat Bill, Jr. has been referenced in many movies that followed, beginning with Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, which was released six months later and debuted Mickey Mouse.

“Before sound in films, the actors relied on body language to tell the story, and the music was always live in theaters and integral to the film’s success,” Tavalin said. “Since I’m improvising, I can play the same movie over and over again and it still feels fresh to me.”

In 1980, a friend and theater owner in Brattleboro, Vermont asked Tavalin to improvise a live score for the 1926 Buster Keaton film The General. “Two minutes into watching the movie, I was hooked,” he said. “I already knew what I could add to the experience because I grew up learning jazz so I’m comfortable with improvisation.”

Tavalin said he only has to watch a film twice before he can improvise a score. The best compliment he has received is when an audience member forgets he is playing live and thinks the score was composed for the film.

Tavalin also teaches piano and plays in the High Standards jazz group. You can learn more about him at petertavalin.com. He and his wife moved to Takoma Park in 2021 to be closer to their daughter and her family.

“Takoma Park has a great sense of community and the City’s Takoma Park Arts series offers a great level of support for local performers and artists,” he said. “After performing at other venues from New England to Florida, I’m excited to debut this performance here in Takoma Park.”

The Takoma Park Arts series is organized by the City’s Arts and Humanities Division and includes free film screenings, art exhibitions, poetry readings, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue. You can sign up for our weekly e-newsletter to receive more info at takomaparkmd.gov/arts.

DANCING JOY Free Film Screening 

Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 pm

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue

In a celebration of music and dance, a film crew traveled 56,000 miles to four continents to film local dance troupes performing traditional dances to Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

The City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts series will feature a free screening of Dancing Joy at 7:30 pm on Sept. 29 in the Takoma Park Community Center auditorium at 7500 Maple Avenue. All are welcome, and no tickets or reservations are required.

More than 200 dancers choreographed and performed dances in Indonesia, Fiji, Nepal, Korea, Botswana, Greece, Northern Ireland, West Virginia, and a dozen other locales.

In a female-led production, producer Kate Tsubata prepared for 12 years before embarking on the film’s production. Film director Lan T. Lee—herself a choreographer and dancer—utilized the language of dance to guide the performers, many of whom didn’t speak English. Closer to home, the film also featured deaf and hard-of-hearing dancers at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

“We wanted to honor Beethoven’s own battle with hearing loss so the first group we approached was the Gallaudet Dance Company, which was founded in 1955,” Tsubata said. “They originated ASL dance and play a key role in the film with sign language-based dance moves that interpret the choral lyrics.”

Authenticity was a priority for the filmmakers. Capturing the historic and natural beauty of the varied locations as well as the dance traditions of each culture was paramount. Handheld camera work, drone, and GoPro action cameras, brings viewers into close proximity with the performers.

Tsubata and film editor Mie Smith will take part in a Q&A with the audience after the screening. There is a trailer and more info about the film at joydancemovie.com.

During two months of shooting, the film crew experienced summer and winter in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, high altitudes, and tropical climates. “Local crews in each nation helped with translation, local regulations, and wardrobes,” Tsubata said.

The Takoma Park Arts series, which is organized by the City’s Arts and Humanities Division, includes many free film screenings, art exhibitions, concerts, theater, and poetry readings at the Takoma Park Community Center.

Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts and sign up for our e-newsletter to get more info about our upcoming events.

CELEBRATING RHIZOME DC PARTY

Friday, June 30 

6 pm – Party at Rhizome at 6950 Maple Street NW

7 pm – Parade to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue

7:30 pm – Film Screening and Concert at the Community Center

Since its founding in 2015, Rhizome DC has offered a home for experimental music, unconventional art, and eclectic performances tucked inside an unassuming house bordering downtown Takoma Park. Now we’re celebrating Rhizome with a multi-media party stretching across the city so bring your walking shoes!

Please join us at 6 pm on June 30 for a free party with music and conversation at Rhizome. Bring some noisemakers (kids can use their outdoor voices) for a festive parade at 7 pm from Rhizome to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue.

At the Community Center, a free film screening will feature the Rhizome Is Home documentary along with a Q&A with film director Tatev Sargsyan. Using interviews and clips of previous performances, the film explores Rhizome’s representation of marginalized voices in the arts and resilience under threat of dislocation from the shape-shifting forces of gentrification.

Following the film screening, the CMW Players will take the stage for a short experimental music concert. Don’t miss it!

This event is part of the Takoma Park Arts series organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division. The series includes free art exhibitions, film screenings, poetry readings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

For more info about Rhizome, go to rhizomedc.org.

CELEBRATING SLIGO CREEK  Art Exhibition

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

On view until Sept. 7 

Sligo Creek is a lifeblood for wildlife in Takoma Park, an important tributary in our watershed, and a source of creativity and inspiration for local artists.
Two photographers and a mixed-media artist will share their work inspired by the creek and its environs in the Celebrating Sligo Creek exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center, with a free opening reception on June 15. The exhibition, which will be on view until Sept. 7, features work by Julius Kassovic, Lynn Alleva Lilley, and Steven Robinson.
Julius Kassovic is a fine-art photographer based in Silver Spring. Since 2005, Sligo Creek has been his major muse and the subject of his Intimate Waterscapes series.
While working around the world in staff positions with the Peace Corps, he used color negative film to document Peace Corps projects. His work has been exhibited in galleries in the D.C. area and in other states and countries.
“I have been intensively shooting photos in Sligo Creek, and I keep finding new expressions of its beauty,” he said. ”I wade into the creek to capture dreamlike images reflecting through the shallow water that appear to be double exposures but are true representations of the creek’s beauty.”
Lynn Alleva Lilley’s photography centers on personal connections to nature and place, which is inspired by poetry, music, painting, and science. Her photos of Sligo Creek and other locales will be featured in the upcoming photo book The Nest. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
“Eight years ago, I walked into the woods of Sligo Creek and was struck by how the bright winter light fell on brambles in the early evening, creating masses of shimmering silver and red lines,” she said. “These lines in nature felt like possibility, a way to question and to weave a life from fragility, fracture, and chaos into a shifting, shimmering beauty.”
Steven Robinson majored in art in college and has worked as an advertising artist for various advertising firms. Using his photos of Sligo Creek as inspiration, he cuts and molds mixed-media work embellished with glass and minerals that represent the vast diversity of nature, including butterflies, insects, reptiles, and amphibians.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a strong awareness of the natural world, especially the small details of shapes, textures, and colors,” he said. “Using my photography and technical skills, I enjoy producing a unique perspective of our beautiful, complex, and perfect natural world.”

WELLSPRING OF POETRY Poetry Reading

Free Event 

Thursday, June 1 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

Please join us for our next Takoma Park Arts poetry reading where four local poets will share their original work about healing, growth, and enlightenment in various forms. The featured poets include Claudia Gary, Brendan Kennedy, Neha Misra, and Pamela Murray Winters.

Claudia Gary teaches poetry workshops at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda and is the author of several chapbooks and a full-length collection of poetry titled Humor Me. She also is a health science writer, a visual artist, and a composer of tonal chamber music and art songs.

Brendan Edward Kennedy is a poet, voiceover artist, and actor who studied poetry at the University of Maryland.  He also is a company member of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore.

Neha Misra is a first-generation immigrant poet, contemporary eco-folk artist, and award-winning climate justice advocate. Her multi-disciplinary Earth wisdom-centered creative studio uses the transformative power of art to build bridges between our private, collective, and planetary healing.

Pamela Murray Winters is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she has received two Maryland State Arts Council artist awards. Her first book The Unbeckonable Bird was published in 2018.

The Takoma Park Arts series includes free poetry readings, art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

MEETING THE MUSE IN MAY

Free Poetry Reading

Thursday, May 18 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

Please join us for the Meeting the Muse in May poetry reading where three local poets will share their diverse range of work. The featured poets include Ryan E. Holman, Carol Jennings, and Melanie Weldon-Soiset.

Ryan E. Holman ‘s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Maryland Literary Review, Corvid Queen, Quail Bell Magazine, and other publications. She enjoys writing about mundane and fantastic life through the lens of the elements.

Carol Jennings is a retired lawyer who worked for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection for more than 30 years. She has two published poetry collections, including The Dead Spirits at the Piano and The Sustain Pedal.

Melanie Weldon-Soiset is a #ChurchToo survivor, contemplative prayer leader, and poetry editor at Geez Magazine. She also is a highly sensitive person who struggles with insomnia, yet values insights gained through dreaming. She loves to write poetry that creates safe refuge for sleep and connects with beauty that rings true.

The Takoma Park Arts series includes free poetry readings, art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

SHORTS NIGHT FILM SCREENING

Friday, April 28 at 7:30 pm

Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium

7500 Maple Avenue

Free Admission

Don’t miss our latest and greatest Shorts Night in the Takoma Park Arts series to see five original short films by D.C.-area filmmakers, including dramas, a documentary, modern dance, and a homegrown feature starring Takoma Park youth. This will be the worldwide premiere for some of the films, and the directors will share their insights in a Q&A with the audience.

The featured films include:

Hugo’s Big Fix by Alice Weiss and Mike Kepka

Based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, this film owes its life to a burst of creativity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with having to cancel their local Halloween play, Takoma Park Middle School students and parents made a short film from start to finish in just one week!

The film tells the magical story of Hugo Cabret, a street urchin who lives in the clock tower at the Gare du Nord train station and finds mischief and adventure with his friend Isabelle in the streets of Paris.

Alice Weiss is a health policy attorney who co-wrote and filmed the play with her daughter Dalia Badt and husband Steve Badt. Mike Kepka is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and father of June Kepka who acted in the film. He served as cinematographer and helped direct, edit, and score the film.

Requiem Today by Olga Aru

This one-act ballet film breaks through the barriers of prejudice and reflects upon the courageous nature of humankind. Expressive and bold, the performance offers a glimpse of hope and unity, as well as a gender-neutral approach in dance partnering. Some film chapters are dedicated to the BLM movement, mental health awareness,  and LGBTQIA+ acceptance.

Olga Aru is a Ukrainian-born American director, actress, writer, and choreographer. She is the founder and artistic director of the Aru Dell’Arte modern dance company, and she screened an earlier film at our Shorts Night in 2021.

The World We Wanted by Richard Hall

In the 1950s and ‘60s, 30 bright teens from around the globe gathered each year to learn about America and discuss social issues in a TV program for the New York Herald Tribune World Youth Forum. Now more than 60 years later, Richard Hall and historian Catherine Bishop have reunited some students from the 1959 forum to see how their perspectives on world issues have changed over the years.

Richard Hall is an independent filmmaker specializing in educational films on history and politics. An archival film enthusiast, he presents the popular Vintage Movie Nights in the Takoma Park Arts series.

Memories by Sarah Molot

In a bittersweet drama, Olly hasn’t seen Mara in a long time but they reunite to spend time together as if they were still kids. If only it wasn’t the last time.

Sarah Molot is a film student at the University of Maryland and a video editor who will be interning with NBC this year.

Main Character by Lexi Christie

A melancholy college student fears she is losing her best friend when her roommate moves away to start a new life with a boyfriend. Through a weekend with her mother and a series of daydreams in different film genres, Sadie wrestles with feelings of loss and envy and what it means to be the “main character” of her own life.

Lexi Christie is a writer, filmmaker, and recent graduate of the University of Virginia where she studied drama and media studies.

The City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts series includes free film screenings, poetry readings, art exhibitions, concerts, theater, and other events at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

CELEBRATING NATIONAL POETRY MONTH POETRY READING

FREE EVENT

April 20 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

TRANSFORMATIONS Art Opening Reception 

Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

The origin of paper winds through history and across centuries from papyrus in ancient Egypt to pulp-based paper from the Han dynasty in China to the invention of photographic paper in the early 19^th century.

Artists have transformed this common material into new worlds of invention and creativity. Three artists will share their paper-based work in the TRANSFORMATIONS exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center with an opening reception at 7:30 pm on March 23. The featured artists include Beth Caruso, Landry Dunand, and Randall Williams.

Beth Caruso’s work often depicts aspects of the self and the body in relation to nature. In her Inner Life series, she photographs subjects and scenes and then uses digital tools to transform them into mirrored, kaleidoscopic imagery.

“This series stems from a vivid interplay of intellect and emotion, combined with the workings of my conscious and subconscious,” she said. “In this light, the work can be viewed as a dialogue between the inner life of the artist and her surroundings, reflecting a desire to reorder the elements of the external world.”

Landry Dunand is a photographer who is exploring the image as an experience in which the artist and subject connect through the photographic process. A native of France, he has traveled extensively, living in Thailand and Afghanistan before moving to Takoma Park. He is focusing his work now on tintype portraits and mixed-media interpretations of his photos.

“Ultimately, my hope is that my images will invite viewers to engage with the world in a new way,” he said. “By highlighting the tactile, gritty qualities of my subjects, I aim to create a visceral experience that transcends the boundaries of the photograph and connects the viewer with the world beyond.”

Finding inspiration in nature, literature, and the arts, Randall Williams cuts paper to create highly detailed colorful artwork. He is president of the Guild of American Papercutters, an organization dedicated to preserving and advancing papercutting as an art form.

“I use hand-cut paper combined with acrylic paints and inks to create layered, expressive images that explore form and color,” he said. “I attempt to create pieces with movement and depth. Papercutting is a meditative art form – as it does not pay to move recklessly when wielding a sharp blade – that brings me a sense of calm.”

This exhibition, which will be on view until June 7, was curated by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith. The Takoma Park Arts series includes free art exhibitions, poetry readings, film screenings, concerts, and theater at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.