I’m honored to be playing the part of Cisco Houston in ‘Woody Guthrie Dreams Before Dying’ by Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith. We’re staging a dramatic reading with live music next Monday, November 15th in Manhattan.

Theater for the New City
“New City, New Blood” reading series presents…

Woody Guthrie Dreams

a play by Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith
Directed by Sarah Seely

Featuring: Michael Patrick F. Smith, Jennifer Restivo, Caleb Stine, Freddy Arsenault, Erica Lutz, Kelvin Hale, Helene Kuhn, Robin Singer, Ben Jaeger-Thomas, Nick Russo, Kathryn Harrison and Jason Planitzer

Monday, Nov. 15th
7pm
$5 suggested donation
Tickets are available at: http://www.theaterforthenewcity.net/index.html

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (btw. 9th & 10th streets)

“Woody Guthrie Dreams” takes place in the final moments of the iconic American folk singer’s life. Guthrie, a hard-bitten Dust Bowl Balladeer, sign painter, social activist, WWII veteran, union man, author of “This Land is Your Land” and titanic influence on Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and others, spent the final decade of his life bedridden in a psychiatric ward.

In “Woody Guthrie Dreams,” the folksinger dreams his way back through life, revisiting moments of his own biography, playing songs across the nation with Pete Seeger, Cisco Houston and Lead Belly. He confronts dream figures such as Jesus Christ, Josef Stalin and cartoonish Fat Capitalists. Guthrie is swept up in a whirlwind romance with the love of his life, Marjorie, a Martha Graham dancer. He battles his own fears, insecurities and a long debilitating illness, all the while throwing himself into a wild attempt at creating a better world, one sung chorus after another

Smith began work on “Woody Guthrie dreams before dying” in 2001. In addition to reading the major works on Guthrie, Smith visited the Smithsonian and the Woody Guthrie Archives, poring over Woody’s unpublished writings and listening to his unreleased recordings. He interviewed Guthrie’s contemporaries such as Pete Seeger, Harold Leventhal and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott among others. Smith traveled across the country visiting Woody’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma and other favorite haunts, chasing Woody’s ghost “from California to the New York Islands.”

Smith has written and produced many plays including “Fuck You! Let’s Bake!” featuring Duff Goldman and leading to the creation of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes.” Smith worked with Robert Anton Wilson (Cosmic Trigger, Illuminatus! Trilogy), adapting and directing “Wilhelm Reich in Hell” for the Son of Semele Ensemble in Los Angeles in 2004. He wrote “Pirates A-Go Go” for Baltimore’s Fluid Movement which was performed on the U.S.S. Constellation, the oldest U.S. naval vessel still afloat. Smith also directed “Julius Caesar” for Mobtown Player’s Shakespeare in Patterson Park, Baltimore. Smith wrote and directed “BOX” which was performed at the New York Fringe Festival and “Trust the Government,” produced at Dixon Place.

For the past several years, Smith has been performing as a folk musician. His first album “All the Cars My Friends Stole” was featured on iTunes front page as a “New and Noteworthy” release in February 2010. He has shared the stage with bands and performers such as Deer Tick, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Wye Oak.

Click Here For Tickets!!

Monday, October 25th, 8pm Caleb Stine and Paul Banks (Austin) open for Johhny Flynn at Sonar in Baltimore.

Hard Hittin’ Songs For Hard Hit People
Saturday, October 9th, 6:30pm
St. John’s Church
2640 St. Paul St., Baltimore MD 21218

Caleb Stine hosts Hard Hittin’ Songs for Hard Hit People, a night of roots and folk music straight from the heart. For the sixth year, local and national musicians will band together to raise money for Heart’s Place, an overnight emergency shelter located in St. John’s (2640) that provides a counseling, meals, and a warm, compassionate haven for homeless men, women and children- the only shelter in Baltimore that serves families. The lineup this year includes Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith (Brooklyn), The Baltimore Shape Note Singers, The Mumbles (New Orleans), Channing and Quinn (Nashville), and Caleb. $10 suggested donation to Heart’s Place, all ages welcome. Hope to see you there!

Heart’s Place is a strong force in Baltimore’s fight against homelessness. For more than 20 years it has offered a place for those in need during the Winter months.

In light of the benefit, I’d also like to share a site I came across a few months back. Invisible People TV is a blog site run by a formerly homeless man who documents the face of Homelessness across America. With a compassionate and curious spirit he is able to elicit honest and moving accounts from the people he meets. The result is a collection of unfiltered, raw human stories. It’s a site well worth exploring if you have a few moments.

Here’s one of the profiles of a young working mother, trying to keep her family of 5 off the street:

So you’re a couple dudes who just finished college, you want an adventure. You want to head out on the road. You want to see America. But you want to do it your way. Something new. Something . . . musical.

Meet Dan Elliott and Maj O’Grady. They are biking across the country on a quest to understand American music up close and personal. It’s a journey through local music scenes in the American Heartland as heard from a bicycle. Their couple month quest is being documented on a blog called Bandcycle.

Several weeks ago, my friend Kat Hudson contacted me about some guys who were interviewing local bands from their bicycles, they were in Baltimore, could I help? I thought they needed a couch to crash on so I offered to have them at my place. Turns out they were curious, adventurous dudes (with a couch already pre-lined up further down the road) and they wanted to hear about Baltimore and what this city is offering up musically. You can read their take on our visit here.

They’re still pedaling, and it’s cool to see the adventure unfold. Check them out and write them a little encouragement. (Looks like they’re taking a deserved couple days off right now).

Farm Fest. Over 1000 people will gather at the Prigel Family Creamery for an afternoon of music, farm-fresh produce and meats, and local food and drink. This fun afternoon supports 1000 Friends of Maryland’s program to Keep Farmers Farming. There will be a children’s area with farm related games. We’re having games for adults, including cowpie bingo!

Click here for link to Tickets and Info. Tickets purchased ahead of time are $25. Day of $35.