Encore Theatre-NYOP

Name Your Own Price

There's a new performance theatre on the eastern side of Birmingham, AL. Located at 9094 Parkway E., -Rear  Birmingham, Alabama 35206.  My friend A.C. and I took in a jazz concert this past Saturday night.

Encore is located on the back of the Roebuck Plaza Shopping Center on the Parkway East side. This space was once occupied by a contemporary church and before that it was a movie theater.  The shopping center itself was built in 1957. Over the years it has undergone numerous rehabs. It's good to see the space now being revitalized as an Arts venue.

Marcus Raby (above) is in the process of securing funds and opening this theatre and art gallery in the Roebuck area. This NYOP event is just  one of many of their fundraising projects.  He (Marcus Raby)  holds many titles; Stage Director | Artistic Director of Encore Theatre | Playwright | Brand Developer | Graphic Artist

He has written and performed many plays here in the Birmingham area and elsewhere. Talking to Mr. Raby, he explained that the future of the theatre is immense with possibilities. There may be a comedian one week, a magician the next and so on. He plans to have a very diverse array of entertainment.

Famous musical greats painted by local artists are displayed in the lobby. I was told that three of the pieces have been sold. The owners of the paintings chose to allow them to continue to be displayed until the next art installment.

We were given beverage tickets at the ticket booth but, weren't told what they were for . A.C. and I thought there would be a door prize drawing at the end of the concert.😊 The tickets were for our wine. No problem. I was driving anyway.

Dwight Houston is the leader of On Purpose Band. This particular night he was performing solo.
 The musician would pause periodically after a few of his numbers and give us the  behind the scenes facts of the music profession.He stressed that it is not as glamorous as it appears.   It can be  treacherous and many young people with stars in their eyes are exploited. 

 This is where the Up Close and Personal came in.  He encouraged the education of youth toward learning a musical instrument and honing their craft.  Dreams of signing a contract for a million dollars can be risky. From the million dollars, the on stage artist must pay all of his/her 
behind-the-scenes people and they will be numerous. Much of the money is not for the singer but, song writers and other ancillary personnel the public doesn't see.Often this leaves the onstage artist with little or no money left from the million dollars.  

He, Dwight Houston, was able to get a full ride scholarship to college because of his musical skills.   Mr. Houston has been in the music industry for over 40 years. He says he hires himself out as a contract musician allowing him to access his career the way he chooses. He has traveled all over the world and enjoys his work.

Mr. Houston (click link to hear his music) also teaches.  There will be a  music clinic this summer for middle school students which is free. For more information on this, he can be contacted at: https://www.onpurposemusic.com/contact-us or  (205) 527-4756 or (205) 527-5462

An enjoyable evening.  Staff of Encore was very gracious and congenial. I felt very welcomed.I'll be spreading the word and will return again for future events.

That's It***

Purse charms/Key rings/ Lanyard

 G. J. and I were in charge of our April Red Hat event. The chapter  usually has a "lovely parting gift" for each person that attends. I told my  event buddy that I'd been working on these, showed  her a sample and we both decided that they would be fine as a gift.

At first it was going to be a pendant on a gold or silver chain. Then I realized some are sensitive to various metals. I didn't want to use ribbon or cord so I had to rethink the project.

💡

A purse charm would be away from the body and it would be less prone to cause sensitivity.

     I painted one side of wooden circles purple for Red Hatters and pink for Pink Hatters. Let it dry. I drilled a hole at the top of each one.

 I painted the back side some form of gold or silver. A  fellow crafter had given me strands of pearls and strands of gold beads which were perfect for this project.  With the beads being on a strand it was much easier to wrap them around the glass bubble picture of each one and slowly pull the string after the beads were in place. I used E-6000 glue for all adherences. 

Pearls in place, Gold beads in place, names on the back, etc. Let it dry.

Now it was time to  do individual beading to make the dangly, thingies that would hang off of the purse charm.
Yep, you're seeing it right. I used an empty egg crate to separate my beads. 

The danglies were then attached to the blank key chains which I purchased from Amazon. 

SIDEBAR: I noticed that some of the key chains had a straight piece of wire in between the groove where the keys go.  Not knowing what it was, I inquired and discovered that it was there to help separate the clip so that the keys could slide on easier. BTW- A staple remover works well also when separating to add keys. No more ruined manicures.

You'll see the results of the dangly, thingies here and below.

The fronts and backs were all finished with at least three coats of Triple Thick. This product gives a glassy, glossy appearance to projects and helps protect them.

They needed some type of packaging and personalization so  I used card stock and personalized everyone's name on their individual purse charm.

This was a fun project and turned out just the way I wanted it to.

That's it ***

The Other Woolworth's

Our April Red Hat brunch gathering  took place at Woolworth's. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking the Five and Dime of days gone by? 

flickrhivemind.net

Well, yes and no. It's in the same location, uses the same name but serves a different purpose.

styleblueprint.com

It describes itself as a Social House. It's a place with a variety of games, food, and drink. A place to socialize. The idea of a Social House brings to mind an English Pub . Though I've never been to England, I do watch a lot of British T.V.😃.

The menu required some discussion and Googling for some of us.

On the menu was:

TOPLESS MADAME

smoked ham, dijon, french pullman loaf, cheese, fried eggs, spinach mornay😐

YOU SAY TORTILLA, I SAY FRITTATA 😡

spanish style baked omelette, sweet potatoes, grilled ciabatta😡, onions, manchego😞, mixed greens

I have to say though that's it's a colorful description and detailed use of adjectives even if I don't know what the food is. But, I'm open to (some) new adventures.

Here we all are smiling for the camera and waiting for our food to arrive.

Some of us had coffee and some of us had other beverages.

After socializing at the Social House we opted not to stick around and partake of the games offered . Tomorrow is Easter with many of the ladies involved with family, church and community duties.

That's it ***