Film Screening and Discussion: 'Tapped'
Written by Mallory A. on 12/20/2014
Rescheduled: Thursday, April 2nd at 7 p.m.
Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.
From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., this timely documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.
From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table. A powerful portrait of the lives affected by the bottled water industry, this revelatory film features those caught at the intersection of big business and the public's right to water.
This program is cosponsored with The Darien Land Trust and Greenwich Audubon.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).
StoryCorps: One American Story at a Time
Written by Mallory A. on 02/09/2015
Thursday, March 12th at 7 p.m.
Robin Sparkman, the CEO of StoryCorps and a Rowayton native, will play "Selections from StoryCorps," classic stories from the Brooklyn-based nonprofit. StoryCorps celebrates the dignity, power, and grace that can be heard in the stories we find all around us. Since founder Dave Isay launched StoryCorps in 2003, 100,000 Americans have participated, making it the largest single collection of human voices ever recorded.
About StoryCorps
At the heart of StoryCorps is a simple, timeless idea: provide two friends or loved ones with a quiet space and 40 minutes of uninterrupted time for a meaningful face-to-face conversation; record that conversation; give the participants a copy; and archive another copy at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps seeks out the stories of people most often excluded from the historical record and preserves them so that the experience and wisdom contained within them may be passed from one generation to the next. StoryCorps shares edited excerpts of some of these recordings in its popular weekly broadcasts on NPR, animated shorts, and bestselling books.
About the Presenter
Robin Sparkman joined StoryCorps as its first CEO in January 2014. She is a veteran journalist. Most recently, she was the editor in chief of ALM Media’s The American Lawyer, where she oversaw several of ALM’s print and digital national publications and wrote a monthly column on legal business issues. Under her leadership, The American Lawyer won six Jesse Neal awards for journalism. Robin sits on the boards of the Union Settlement Association of East Harlem and the American Business Media editorial committee. Before joining ALM, she spent five years as an editor for the business and opinion sections of MSNBC.com. Robin was one of the founding members of the site, the world’s top Internet news source. She is also a former reporter for Newsweek, covering terrorism, the United Nations, and politics. Robin is a magna cum laude graduate of Wellesley College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.
The Catherine Lindsey Actors/Playwrights Workshop
Written by Mallory A. on 04/28/2014
The Catherine Lindsey Actors/Playwrights Workshop is excited to announce that the Actors/Playwrights Workshop, now in its 23rd year, will present a series of workshops at Darien Library.
Submit your play using this form. Submissions are due April 1st.
Selected plays will be presented for workshop on Thursday, April 23rd and Thursday, April 30th. The workshops will allow the playwrights to refine their scripts before the final public reading.
On Sunday, June 7th at 2 p.m., the Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present the first public-staged reading of selections from the plays in the Library’s Community Room.
The Actors/Playwrights Workshop welcomes Actors’ Equity actors and non-Equity actors to participate, brings together local and regional playwrights and actors, and encourages a collaborative effort to create new plays and present a public-staged reading.
Co-founded by the late Catherine Lindsey and her husband Robert, the workshop introduces original plays in progress to be developed in a workshop environment with the goal of the public-staged readings. Catherine Lindsey was a beloved friend of the Library and director of Darien Library Theater for over 25 years. The memorial workshops will offer actors and playwrights the opportunity to work together to create original theatrical works in a supportive and creative environment.
The Actors/Playwrights Workshop welcomes all interested playwrights and actors, with or without experience, to join. The sessions offer actors and playwrights the opportunity to work together to create original theatrical works in a supportive and creative environment, culminating in the June 7th program, which will feature four staged performances. The musicals, monologues, short scenes from full-length and one-act plays to be performed will be chosen by the Darien Library Selection Committee.
When writing your piece please keep in mind that the number of cast members is limited, only one play may be submitted per person, and plays must be 10-minutes long or less. Please limit your plays to 10-pages double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font.
For more information, contact Workshop Director Robert Cusack at (203) 655-7699 or at robert.cusack1@att.net.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behing Nielsen's).
Darien All-Schools Art Show
Written by Amanda G. on 03/04/2015
Tuesday, March 3rd to Thursday, April 7th
Come view Darien Public Schools students’ artwork from Grades K-12 at the Library. The gallery is located on the Library's Lower Level.
The Art Department ’s progressive curriculum enables the students to build art media skills as well as educating them to use curiosity and intuitive thinking to express themselves in unique artistic images. Through studio based lessons the students learn, from art historical exploration, the role of the visual arts in reflecting human values. and aesthetics.
The dedicated art faculty help the children to understand and use the Elements of Art and the Principals of Design as the students learn new ways to see, think and express themselves.
Meet Us On Main Street
Written by Laura C. on 03/04/2015Stephanie declared to the Meet Us On Main Street group that winter should be over! So she brought, to fulfill that promise, "warm" stories/memoirs that take place far from the Connecticut snow: the island of Majorca, the jungles of Vietnam, the hills of San Francisco, the beach shores of the Caribbean, the steamy nightlife of Mexico City, and, surprisingly, but yes, the bottom of a mineshaft in Chile. What a welcome relief from the cold! The group couldn't have been happier. The final three titles on the list are books the group has read, enjoyed and wanted to share. Start your summer "early" with the list below:
Darien Library, 1441 Post Road, Darien, Connecticut, 06820-5419 · 203-655-1234