fall 2013

|e REVELS EDUCATION: COME LEARN WITH US Programs include a new Sea Chantey Workshop, Spring Vacation Theatre Week and Sing with Revels, a program expressly for home-schooled students

REVELS INTRODUCES ITS NEW FACE Here's our updated brand image!

NEW CD! Reveler [ News from Revels }] Our latest compilation celebrates the music of Galicia, Spain

On the Road! Join us for a fantastical musical pilgrimage

rd 43 Annual Christmas Revels

16 performanc∂ at Sanders ◊eatre December 13–27

INSIDE: An interview with Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary Our featured guest at Revels RiverSing, September 22! o, it’s not Morocco, but Revels is on the road this year with a trio of actor storytellers that will go together as perfectly as Bing, Bob and Dorothy! Beginning the long pilgrimage that ends at the Christmas Revels at Sanders Theatre will be Jay O’Callahan, Steven Barkhimer and Angélica Aragón. Jay, who starred as “Old Rom” in the Romany Revels in 1997 is an old friend of Revels, telling his stories in our sea celebrations and at many Revels events. He even appeared on stage with Revels founder Jack Langstaff singing excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan. An internationally revered teller of tales, one of Jay’s most recent accomplishments is his creation of a story about NASA’s space n program—commissioned by NASA -that culminated in humans landing on the moon. Children and 0 adults have spent many happy hours with Jay’s stories, laughing at his unpacking the memories of his the boyhood on Pill Hill (where the doctors live in Boston) or experiencing the hardships of a long kayak journey through icy waters. Jay will play our central character Everyman in this year’s show and the journey that he is sent on takes us from the mountains of the Pyrenees across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the road pilgrims have travelled for over a thousand years. Everyman’s companion “Sancho” will be played by Steven Barkhimer. Steven is one of the top character actors in Boston. Revels audiences will know him from his spooky performance as the “Fish-man,” Coomara in last year’s Irish Revels, and as the wryly loveable purser who tried to keep up the spirits of the youngsters on the journey. Steve’s character this year is based on Sancho Panza from the Don Quixote stories. We look forward to his sly humor. THE 2013 CHRISTMAS Back after many years is the lovely Angélica Aragón. Known to many from her extensive work in film and TV (I particularly liked her as Anthony Quinn’s daughter-in-law in “A Walk in the Clouds”) REVELS Angélica starred in the 1996 Meso-American Revels. It is 40 years since Angélica was my student at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and our paths have gone in many different diretions, Directed by Patrick Swanson but as is the nature of paths they sometimes come together when Fate determines the destination. George Emlen, music director The path in question is the Camino de Compostela, a pilgrimage that has been walked since the Middle Ages. The music that has become associated with this endeavor is extraordinarily beautiful— DECEMBER 13–27 the unique skirl of the gaita or Galician bagpipe, gorgeous sacred choral music, children’s songs spiced with local flavor. To create a Revels version of the pilgrimage we have taken the idea of the road itself 16 PERFORMANCES: Matinees & Evenings as the central metaphor and used many sources—Everyman, the Pilgrim’s Progress, Man of La Mancha, Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre The Canterbury Tales and the cycle of the year itself. Jay and I have been meeting to flesh out the story 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA within the Revels structure. We are having fun, and the journey is still in the foothills. Bring a stout pair of shoes—we are going on an adventure!

Tickets go on sale Oct. 20th at noon. PA DDY SWA NSON, August 2013

EXPLORING REVELS FRESH LOOK at EDUCATION REVELS In a world where many students are being “taught As Revels begins its 43rd season we are proud to the test,” Revels continues its unique education to introduce some updates to our organization’s mission for the 2013–14 season with new programs brand. This refreshed look, along with some new and tried and true favorites that emphasize cre- communications tools and ideas, will help us ativity, cultural curiosity, confidence, and fun. ensure that the next generation of young Revelers This fall we’re excited to introduce a one-day Sea Chantey are in place to join and continue our traditions. Workshop for “tweens” (suggested ages 10–14). Led by Revels song leader extraordinaire David Coffin, young people will learn Our brand studies started with some high level thinking about about our region’s seafaring history, sing some classic chanteys Revels' mission. Our complex blend of seasonal celebration, and even have the chance to write and perform their own original respect for tradition, and participation doesn’t easily lend itself song. This program will be held on Saturday, October 26. Visit to simple explanation. In order to help new audiences find and Revels.org for more info and to register. understand us, we worked to clarify what we do with some fresh Another new opportunity being developed this season is a language: Revels engages today’s audiences in theatrical and Spring Vacation Theater Week April 21–25, 2014 which will pro- musical experiences that bring the world’s cultural traditions vide children 7–12 with an exciting immersion into the traditional and celebrations to life. arts. Stay tuned for more details. Our popular Sing with Revels We then extended that thinking to an energetic evolution weekly class for home-schooled children returns with fall and of our logo. Starting with a team of more than 20 constituents, spring enrollment. You can also look forward to attending Twelfth including board members, audience, cast, advertisers, and staff, Night, our post-Christmas family tradition and our annual spring we identified clear goals for our update. Working with the talented celebration at Perkins School for the Blind in May. In addition, design team at Cahoots, we set out to create an integrated visual education director Michelle Roderick will continue our deep identity system that would ignite the power of the word “revels” relationship with 3 public schools in Cambridge as well as Shady and communicate the creative spirit and diverse activities Hill School by providing afterschool enrichment classes. Did you of our organization. Our new logo appears on the right. know that Revels can also tailor a workshop or school program As the fall progresses, you’ll also discover updated emails, for your school or youth non-profit? Call Michelle to learn more. special outreach to young adults, and greater use of video and Revels Education isn’t just for the young of age. After a social media to help tell the Revels story. A new, state-of-the-art hugely successful first year with more than 80 participants, website will complete the process and is scheduled to be the Revels Singers is a non-auditioned community chorus that unveiled prior to Christmas. rehearses under the direction of George Emlen. Join us and Behind the surface, however, Revels steadfastly embodies add the joy of singing to your week! All adults are welcome, the same classic values that have served us since our founding and teens 13–17 may join with a singing parent or guardian. 43 years ago: stewarding tradition, fulfilling the human need for Photo by David Pendery The fall term starts on September 26. celebration, and creating connection between people through participation and cultural exploration. Learn more about Revels Education at Revels.org or contact us at 617.972.8300 ext.26. To learn more about the new logo, visit Revels.org.

WE CAN'T REVEL without YOU! As autumn gets underway so does an exciting new Revels season. Without audience members, workshop participants, participatory singing and dancing, and hard-working volunteers, Revels would tell a very different story. Another vital role in supporting Revels is played by our donors. Ticket sales only pay for 51% of fulfilling our mission and the rest is covered by your generous donations. Help us continue to bring tradition to life and become a Friend of Revels today. In addition to providing essential funding, Friends who donate $75 or more are guaranteed access to order tickets for The Christmas Revels starting on September 25th, nearly a month before the general public.

Learn more at Revels.org and click on the contribute tab or Photo by Arthur Ferguson contact us at 617.972.8300 ext. 29. Photo of Noel Paul Stookey on the cover by Sally Farr EVELS IVERSING R CELEBRATES its th R 10 ANNIVERSARYin a VERY SPECIAL WAY! IT'S NOT OFTEN A MUSIC LEGEND WALKS INTO YOUR LIFE, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO SHARES YOUR SENSIBILITIES. BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO FUTURE REVELS MUSIC DIRECTOR GEORGE EMLEN WHEN, NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, NOEL PAUL STOOKEY, THE “PAUL” IN PETER, PAUL AND MARY, ENTERED A CHURCH IN RURAL MAINE.

George recalls, “Noel showed up for choir practice one Thursday in 1975 at the church where I was organist in Blue Hill, Maine. We had both moved there with our families, looking for a healthy environment in which to raise our kids. We soon became fast friends and musical collaborators.” Their friendship— and their shared love of music—continues to this day. So when George asked Noel if he would consider headlining the 10th anniversary of Revels RiverSing, the iconic folksinger/songwriter so strongly identified with social activism, immediately said yes. For the uninitiated, Revels RiverSing is a free community celebration that waves goodbye to summer and welcomes in the fall. Held in Cambridge along the banks of the Charles River each year, it’s a magical night of music, song, and celebration. Often likened to a giant sing-along, RiverSing takes place on the Sunday closest to the Autumnal Equinox and features a large volunteer chorus of adults and children, a fabulous folk band, seasonal poetry, and a number of guest soloists and song leaders. (A complete roster of this year’s RiverSing participants can be found at Revels.org.) As Revels RiverSing is as much about community as it is about music, Stookey’s enthusiasm was evident as we chatted with the composer of such classics as “The Wedding Song” and other seminal folk songs of the 60s and 70s.

Q: Let’s start at the beginning. Do you remember your earliest musical influences our reunion in 1978 but continued right through 2009 when Mary passed away.... and what drew you to music in the first place? We lost a gallant lady.

A: I can remember my first solo performance was as one of the Three Kings singing Q: Describe the path you’ve taken since. “We Three Kings from Orient Are” [laughs] in a church gathering in Dorsey, Maryland where I lived for the first 11 years of my life. I wasn’t nervous about it. I always had A: Much of the concern we have for one another and the ultimate progression of a real comfort with music…. My dad taught me harmony…. We had this song we humankind into a peaceful society has to do more with the spiritual nature of human- would sing together. One day I found I was the only one singing melody—he was kind because politics come and go, leaders come and go, but at the heart of it there’s doing harmony. It just made a buzz in my ear and it felt so great! I think that’s something I sometimes describe as “the big L”—Love. You know we each have small what started me on group singing…. glimmerings of what “the small l”—love is in our own lives but every once in a while we get a sense that these are all reflections, pathways or visions of what the larger L is, Q: You were 20 years old when you moved to New York and met and that brings us all together. And so much of my writings since 1970 have been based . Eventually you formed Peter, Paul and Mary and became leaders on trying to make a more peaceful world through respect and understanding one of the American folk music revival of the 60s. Your recordings certainly provided another…. I think we are drawn to each other because we see the fact that while we entertainment but did you see yourselves as agents for social change as well? are unique there is a common calling to all of us, to our hearts. So much of the music that I’ve created since then…speaks to the fact that there is one love and that there A: Of course! After all, what is folk music if not reacquainting the ears of musical are many ways of seeing it. In “One and Many,” which by the way we’ll be singing at listeners with the fact that music can be about many things.... To that extent, much RiverSing, the chorus is “One flame, many candles, one sky, many stars, one sea, of what we, the trio, inherited and put into our performance was from the legacy of many rivers, one love, many hearts." great socially minded writers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and Josh White and Reverend Gary Davis, as well as more contemporary writers like Bob Dylan. Q: Are there any young artists that you admire today? We’re really called upon as “people,” whether as musicians or participants in a musical circumstance, to think of what we can do to make this a better world. A: [laughs] When you say “young” everything is relative when you’re 75…. I appreciate How could we make it more harmonious? Pun intended. music that has substance as well as style…. It really must have substance. I can get by for only a few moments with strictly dance music that’s not really saying anything. Q: In 1970, Peter, Paul and Mary disbanded for a while... Don’t get me wrong! I recognize the value of just dancing, you know, rejoicing in the experience of life, but for me, now, at 75, there’s a wider purpose to life than just the A: Yes, in 1970 the trio took some time off for good behavior [laughs]. We got back enjoyment itself. As a matter of fact, I’ll conclude this rambling with what I sense is together again in 1978 over the prickly issue of a nuclear reactor coming online close probably the most important challenge facing all humankind at this time in world to the San Andreas fault so we did a “Survivor Sunday” that Peter put together and development and that is striking the balance between our personal integrity and subsequent to that realized that we could do 30–60 concerts a year instead of the our responsibility to community. You can’t have one without the other. 200–260 we were doing in the 60s. Peter wrote “” about the Jewish- Palestinian conflicts and the importance of not becoming our own enemy by virtue of forgetting what it is we stand for. Similarly, I wrote “El Salvador” about what was going This interview has been truncated for space. on in Central America, basically, so our political persuasion didn’t really let down after Please read the full transcript of our interview at Revels.org.

Revels RiverSing Photo by Arthur Ferguson WHAT'S HAPPENING WHEN?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

5:00 PM HARVARD SQUARE FUN IN WINTHROP PARK

5:45 PM PARADE TO THE RIVER ALL JOIN! 6:00 PM THE SINGING BEGINS! 80 Mt. Auburn Street Watertown, MA 02472

Join us on September 22 on the banks of the Charles River as we mark the autumnal equinox with the song, spirit, and magic of Revels RiverSing! 2

CALENDAR of REVELS’ NEW CD IS OUT! “With one melodious voice they sweetly did rejoice,” sing the REVELS EVENTS children on our new Revels recording. Although they are singing FALL 2013–SPRING 2014 about birds, they might as well be referring to themselves. There is much sweet rejoicing on this collection of Spanish and Galician Sunday, September 22, 2013 Tuesday, January 28, 2014 carols, dances, and processionals that will stir your hearts and 10th ANNUAL REVELS RIVERSING WINTER PUB SING get your feet moving. The banks of the Charles River The Skellig The Road to Compostela: A Galician Christmas Revels is the latest in our impressive near Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA Waltham, MA catalogue of Christmas Revels recordings. Strictly speaking, it is the soundtrack for FREE! our upcoming Christmas Revels performances in December, in which our protagonist Everyman encounters the people, music, and dance of Galicia and Spain as he journeys to his fate along the medieval pilgrimage route known as the Camino Friday, October 18, 2013 Saturday, March 22, 2014 de Santiago. In a more timeless way, this recording is an enduring REVELS SALON SPRING SING accompaniment for the winter holidays in any year, filled with Commander’s Mansion Grace Vision Church songs both earthy and spiritual, exuberant carols, and lively Watertown, MA (formerly St. John’s Church) instrumental tunes that you will want to hear again Watertown, MA and again. The Road to Compostela is available for order now at Revels.org or by calling 617.972.8300 ext. 31. Sunday, October 20, 2013 Sunday, May 4 & Monday, May 5 And remember to share the holiday spirit—embodied CHRISTMAS REVELS 2014 CHRISTMAS REVELS in a distinctly Revels way—with family and friends. TICKETS ON SALE Buy additional CDs as presents for everyone on AUDITIONS your list, for they are sure to be as captivated 617.496.2222 or Grace Vision Church Revels.org/tickets Watertown, MA by this exciting recording as you will be!

GEORGE W. EMLEN Friday, November 15, 2013 Wednesday, May 7, 2014 REVELS SALON SPRING PUB SING Commander’s Mansion Doyle’s Café Watertown, MA Jamaica Plain, MA

December 13–27, 2013 Thursday, May 29, 2014 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST THE CHRISTMAS REVELS: CELEBRATION OF THE SPRING Facebook.com/therevels In Celebration of the Winter Solstice Perkins School for the Blind Watertown, MA FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre Twitter.com/therevels Cambridge, MA FREE! PRESENTED BY REVELS & PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND VISIT OUR WEBSITE Revels.org Saturday, January 4, 2014 SEND US A NOTE 6th ANNUAL TWELFTH NIGHT [email protected] CELEBRATION Grace Vision Church (formerly St. John’s For more information about Revels events please Church) Watertown, MA visit Revels.org or call us at 617.972.8300. ©2013, Revels. Inc. Design: Cahoots