PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK and VOTE FOR ME & help me be the new Dunkin' Donuts gal!Sometimes saying NO is saying YES. Oh wait, that doesn't make sense. Oh wait, yea it does. Look, by saying no to a subpar contract this Christmas season, I am saying YES to the many opportunities out there left for the taking. If I would have said YES to a contract that I truly believe is insulting to my time and talent I'd be stuck and obligated to turn down something better that WILL come along.
This is really big for me. The people pleaser in me isn't completely dead but she is realizing sometimes it's ok to say no. And I did just that. And I think it's great I did that because I already have auditions lined up and my first gig in NYC.
This Sunday, October 23, 2011 I'll be joining Park & Bark Opera's recital of Jason Robinette in a spectacular concert event: SONGS OF THE CIVIL WAR at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in Forest Hills, Queens, NY. This concert features some of Forest Hills’ well-loved local performers: tenor, Jason Robinette, and soprano, Mim Paquin, with guest performers bass baritone, Martin Fisher, singer/actress Kirsten Almeida, singer/actress, Terri Bonica-Matassov, and musician & U.S. military veteran, Kenneth Horgan. James Lubrano returns to Park & Bark for his second year as music director and accompanist, with the familiar face and voice of Jim Chamberlain as the narrator.
I'm so excited about this event. I have been challenged to learn songs from an era I am not familiar with yet after rehearsing the last few days I'm in love. My solo:My Old Kentucky Home is absolutely beautiful. I'm enjoying working with my dear friends Mim, Jay, and James and looking forward to the performance this Sunday.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sunday, October 23, 2o11 3 PM - SONGS OF THE CIVIL WAR - Forest Hills, Queens, NY
Thursday, November 3, 2011 8 PM - SPOTLIGHT CABARET 'THROWBACK' - Allentown Brew Works, Allentown, PA
Thursday, December 1, 2011 8 PM - SPOTLIGHT CABARET 'WACKY HOLIDAY' - Allentown Brew Works, Allentown, PA
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 (Time to be listed at a later date) - Don't Tell Mama's NYC
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Love me and be not angry if I belong to another"~Asklepiades (I saw this quote on the restroom door at Cafe Reggio in NYC)
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: AWESOMENESS!!!!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: VANILLA CHAI SCONES - perfect for the Fall weather!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (on the baking aisle with the spices)
1 tsp salt
6 individual bags of spiced chai tea
1 cup cold butter
1.5 cups white chocolate chips
1 cold egg
2 tsp vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line a large baking sheet with parchement paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix together flour, white sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut tea bags and empty ingredients into mixture. Cut in butter until flour resembles course meal.
*This can be done by pulsing flour mixture and butter in a food processor, squeezing butter and flour mixture with your hands, by using a pastry cutter or two knives. Food processor or hands work the best!*
4. Stir in white chocolate chips.
5. Mix egg and vanilla into sour cream. Pour and stir in flour mixture.
6. Turn dough onto a heavily floured surface. Knead briefly. Either: Form into two mounds and cut into triangles OR roll out dough to appx .75inch thickness and cut using a cookie cutter.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes until bottom is golden brown
Kirsten Almeida received her B.A. in Theater and Speech from Wagner College
. For twelve years, Kirsten doubled as a professional fundraiser for a large non-profit arts organization and an actor, director, choreographer, and playwright. She is currently performing for the Pines Dinner Theatre 2011 season as Sister Hubert in 'Nunsense' and Mrs. C in 'Happy Days The Musical.' She has performed in more than forty shows all over the U.S. She spent four months touring the country with the Omaha Theater Company's production of 'The Little Engine that Could' as the Red Dress Doll. She performed nearly 80 performances in 36 states. In New York City, Kirsten was part of the cast for the award-winning 'Skin Deep' by Mary Lynn Dobson (Fringe Festival winner 2009) which has won top honors from the 2010 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and originated the role of Lavender Blue in the eerily funny 'Professor Von Awesome's Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings.' Kirsten appeared in the U.S. premiere of 'Scandalous! A new musical based on the life of D.H. Lawrence' in New Orleans and appeared at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the World Premiere musical 'The Butterfly Project' which raised money for children's cancer research. Other credits include Children of Eden (Mama Noah), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(Narrator), Hello Dolly!(Minnie Fay), Beauty and the Beast(Silly Girl & Madame de la Grande Bouche), The Sound of Music(Mother Abbess), Annie(Star-to-Be), Oliver!(Widow Corney), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying(Rosemary), My Fair Lady(Featured Dancer), Promises, Promises!(Featured Dancer), Nunsense I & II(Sister Leo), Gypsy(Tessie Tura), Guys & Dolls(Featured Dancer), Back to the 80s(Debbie Cox), Seussical the Musical(Gertrude), Snoopy!(Sally Brown), Pippin(Featured dancer), Carousel, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors(Chiffon), and many more.
In film/tv, Kirsten just wrapped up filming on two short films: 'Stabilized' by Grete Miller, a B&W silent film where her solo performance received highest accolades during screenings from Shimon Dotan, award-winning filmmaker with 13 feature films to his credit; recipient of Jury Prize for Best World Documentary at Sundance (Hot House); Silver Bear at the Berlin FF (The Smile of the Lamb); Best Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival (You Can Thank Me Later); numerous Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director (Repeat Dive; The Smile of the Lamb); films presented on HBO, PBS, CBS, ARTE; has taught filmmaking at Tel Aviv U., Concordia U. in Montreal and is teaching political cinema at NYU and 'Threshold'. She appears in the upcoming comedy 'Big Guns' which has received numerous awards on the film festival circuit in 2011. She was also in 'Three Chris'' and the independent short 'Westfield' with Clocktower Productions. She has also appeared in two episodes of 'The World's Most Astonishing News'.
Kirsten has appeared as a guest artist with the Newark Boys Chorus and Triad Ensemble and the Spotlight Cabaret with Allentown Public Theater. She was a founding member of the Boonton Parks & Recreation Theatre Company for young performers where she not only directed and choreographed the shows for the company but also acted as lead fundraiser, costumer, lighting designer, marketing director as well as scenic and props designer. Kirsten also taught dance for the recreation department to children ages 7-12. Kirsten has also dabbled in play writing for children's theater. Her twisted version of "The Three Little Pigs" (a musical from the Big Bad Wolf's perspective) was produced at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick, NJ.
Kirsten teaches drama classes at the Civic Theater in Allentown, PA to grades Pre-K through 4. She also is the Program Coordinator/Facilitator for the "Reading with Cat in the Hat" literacy promotion program where she tours to at-risk communities and performs as the Cat in the Hat. Kirsten also offers an audition class to high school students which helps students audition confidently. Her effective teaching style is requested by groups in PA and NJ and NY.
No comments:
Post a Comment