Talent

Washington Park celebrates eco-friendly living with EcoSculpt

By Newsroom

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March 19, 2013

Part of Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation’s mission is to create spaces that are open and welcoming; and one way 3CDC achieves its mission is by offering an array of programs within its two public spaces: Fountain Square and Washington Park. Beginning April 5 at Washington Park, EcoSculpt installations will be on display in an effort to not only raise awareness about green living, but also to recognize and celebrate local artists. “Washington Park is in the center of the arts community—we’re across from Music Hall and SCPA is right next door—so we’re always astounded by the level of creativity surrounding the park,” says Brittney Carden, communications officer at 3CDC. “So we want to in turn promote some of that creativity and open people’s minds.” In years past, EcoSculpt, which is a collection of sculptures made entirely of recycled materials, has taken place at Fountain Square, but Carden says 3CDC wanted to move the event to Washington Park so that it would reach a greater variety of people and encourage them to maintain the spaces that are intentioned for their use. “People might look at Coke cans or bottle caps and see at it as garbage—nothing can be made from that—and that’s not true,” Carden says. “People have made fantastic art from a lot of these recyclable materials that we no longer value.” Tom Tsuchiya’s “Atlas Recycled,” which is a seven-foot tall sculpture made of recycled cans and bottles, was a 2010 EcoSculpt submission that gained national recognition. It traveled to New York City’s Grand Central Terminal and Washington D.C.’s National Mall. Carden says it's these types of memorable pieces that showcase local talent through the lens of reusing and recycling items often viewed as trash. “We’re showing that these items do in fact have a use, and something beautiful and wonderful can be made from them,” Carden says. “Hopefully EcoSculpt will attract more [people] to the park and promote eco-friendly living.” Do Good: • View the EcoSculpt exhibit April 5-26 at Washington Park. • Attend events at Washington Park. • Like Washington Park's Facebook page. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Latest in Talent

MOTR owners plan to turn Woodward Theater into music venue

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 19, 2013

About six years ago, the owners of Over-the-Rhine’s oft-frequented MOTR began looking for a larger space for concerts. And they found one right across the street: the Woodward Theater. “When we brought MOTR to OTR, we wanted to insert the local music community into the arts and culture discussion in Cincinnati,” says MOTR co-owner Dan McCabe. “By expanding across the street, that discussion gets a little louder.” MOTR has been the OTR hotspot for free music for the past few years, and the Woodward will help attract larger bands that are too big to play MOTR. The concerts at the Woodward will be ticketed, with advance tickets available. “We want to see people from outside Cincinnati to see what OTR is,” says McCabe. “Musicians that play the Woodward will be coming from cities like New York, where the cost of living is high. They might consider relocating to Cincinnati, which has a great support base for musicians and the platform to build a crowd base. It’s also centrally located for touring.” The Woodward’s new owners also want it to be used as more than a music venue. “I’d love to show films and host private events too,” says McCabe. “OTR is an event-driven neighborhood, and we want the Woodward to be a resource to the community.” The Woodward has been used in recent years as an antiques warehouse, and hasn’t been an active storefront for a long time, says McCabe. In the next few weeks, construction will begin on the theater’s façade, including getting the lights on the outside working. McCabe and his business partners are still working on plans for the inside. “We basically have a white box on the inside with a balcony, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.” This year is the Woodward’s 100th birthday—it opened on June 18, 1913. The guys of MOTR have a big event planned for the building’s birthday, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for more information. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Cincy playwright aims to enrich national theatre scene

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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March 12, 2013

Mike Hall, 34, says he fell in love with theater at the age of 16 when he began attending Loveland High School and knew he had to make friends. He says he grew up as an “Army brat” who moved around a lot, though most of his family was based in or around the Cincinnati area; and when he moved to Loveland to finish high school, he first turned to “theater people,” who “are for the most part, pretty embracing.” Hall started acting in school productions and never turned back. He attended Northern Kentucky University as a theatre major, then went on to spend his time performing with various theatre companies in the area. Acting, Hall says, was his primary endeavor. That is, until he had a conversation backstage with Josh Steele in 2009, as the two were waiting to begin the night’s production of “Angry Housewives” at New Edgecliff Theatre. “We both wanted to see ‘Ghostbusters’ the musical happen,” Hall says. “We figured big budget movies and musicals like that are successful, and it’s usually the cult classics that make it, so we decided to try to write it.” After talking to a copyright lawyer, however, the idea for “Ghostbusters” had to be scrapped, but all was not lost. “He told us that was the worst idea ever, unless we wanted to be poor the rest of our lives,” says Hall. “But we still wanted to write something based around it, so we decided to turn it on its ear and write about what we know, which is the world of theater—so we decided to write about a group of actors who want to do ‘Ghostbusters’ the musical. They get told that they can’t and still decide to do it by changing the process around completely.” So Hall and Steele did just that and became first-time playwrights with “Don’t Cross the Streams: The Cease and Desist Musical,” which became a hit after its debut at both the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Fringe festivals last year. The two writers didn’t want to stop there, however. According to Hall, they’re “kind of hooked,” so the two recently formed their production company, Hugo West Theatricals; and the first major goal is to produce “Don’t Cross the Streams” as a two-act show, get it published and performed in cities across the country. Hugo West Theatricals, in conjunction with Falcon Theater, will start with a week-long run beginning Friday at Monmouth Theatre. Hall says he and Steele have added a few songs and expanded on the script to create a comedic piece they both feel good about. “I think the audience will be entertained, and that’s probably the most important thing theater can teach—is that we’re really supposed to entertain people—we can’t get too much on our high horse and make it a message all the time,” Hall says. “We have to keep the audience in mind—and when the audience comes to see it, I think they’ll know that we’ve kept them at the forefront.” Do Good: • Support "Don't Cross the Streams" by purchasing tickets to a performance at Monmouth Theatre, March 15-23. • Join and share the Facebook event page with your friends to spread word about the upcoming run of "Don't Cross the Streams." • Like "Don't Cross the Streams" on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Mason design firm sets up office in Over-the-Rhine

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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March 12, 2013

For 45 years, Bayer Becker’s civil and transportation engineers, landscape architects, planners and land surveyors have served the Tri-State area. And last month, the design firm opened an office in Over-the-Rhine. “There’s a commitment to the urban core here in OTR, and we want to be part of it,” says Mike Dooley, an associate at Bayer Becker. “We want to be closer to the clients we work with and new talent.” Founded in 1968 by Joseph Bayer and Keith “Sandy” Becker, the firm has served a variety of local and national clients and has consulted on projects in the public and private sectors. The OTR office is Bayer Becker’s fourth office in the Cincinnati area (its home office is in Mason, and there are smaller offices in Fort Mitchell, Ky., and Oxford, Ohio). Bayer Becker’s new office is in the historic Saengerhalle building next to 3CDC and across the street from Washington Park. The firm looked at buildings in the Central Business District, but the opportunity arose in OTR to be near local architects and other design firms, says CFO and Vice President Tim Bayer, who is the son of founder Joseph Bayer. “There are lots of businesses and entertainment here, which was very appealing to us,” Bayer says. “We want to be part of strengthening the community’s employment and aesthetic aspects.” Currently, Bayer Becker is doing land surveying on several properties for 3CDC; they’re in the middle of the bidding process on a property in OTR near the casino. Yard House at The Banks was also a Bayer Becker project. Bayer Becker wants to be a good business citizen and be active in the OTR Chamber of Commerce and be part of other business associations and endeavors in the business community, says Bayer. “Our goal is to continue to strengthen the community through employment, be part of celebrating client success and help improve downtown Cincinnati.” The firm wants to help continue enriching the community, and later this month, they’ll be sponsoring the Urban Awakenings series, which focuses on four Cincinnati neighborhoods that are dedicated to revitalization and rejuvenation. “We want to help OTR be a model for other communities,” Dooley says. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Schnecken: The German Cinnamon Roll We Adore

By Newsroom

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Cincy In The News

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March 12, 2013

The particular schnecken that we had the good fortune to try came to us from Queen City Cookies in Cincinnati—and this schnecken is no ordinary schnecken. Read the delicious report here.

On OFFF: Designers that will blow you away

By Scott Beseler

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Architecture + Design

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March 12, 2013

Even if you didn't get a chance to attend the sold-out OFFF event hosted by the Contemporary Arts Center, you can still experience the mind-blowing designers' work from the comfort of your computer. Slideshow by Soapbox's own mind-blowing photographer, Scott Beseler.

My Soapbox: Sandra E. Spataro, NKU

By Jessica Noll-Korczyk

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Diversity

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March 5, 2013

With degrees from Stanford and Berkeley, Sandra Spataro brings experience from Silicon Valley and teaching stints at Yale and Cornell to her students at Northern Kentucky University. She chose to work at NKU because it offered not only a diverse student population, but a chance to focus on what she calls "up-close-and-personal" teaching.

HCBC opens new CoWorks space for entrepreneurs, startups

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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March 5, 2013

The Hamilton County Business Center is Cincinnati's oldest incubator, and has evolved over the decades as the economy has changed. Startups are leaner and meaner now than ever before, and HCBC is piloting the region's latest coworking space, where small businesses can get many of the benefits of being in an incubator without the higher overhead. HCBC's CoWorks had a very quiet launch late last fall. With three businesses in the space, which is located in Norwood, Executive Director Pat Longo is now getting the word out about HCBC. "This has grown out of our affiliate program," Longo says. "There were companies that weren't yet ready to apply for the incubator but they wanted to be around it." HCBC has recently upgraded its conference room space, which has been attractive to small companies like SCORE, SBDC and Meetups that want to present themselves more professionally, says Longo. HCBC has 45 companies that last year generated over $18 million in revenues, accessed over $8 million in capital and created nearly 50 jobs. Renting CoWorks space on a month-to-month basis starts at $75 per month, and includes: 24-hour, 7-day-a-week accessWiFiConcierge and receptionist servicesFree parkingFax, scanner and copier servicesKitchenUp to four hours per month of conference room useA mailing address"We talk about having an entrepreneurial ecosystem, but I like to think of (HCBC) as a coral reef," Longo says. "We have a lot of life, people can grow, there is lots of nourishment and places to go and hide if you need a quiet place to work." CoWorkers will have access to the incubator entrepreneurial atmosphere, programming and resources. Some are free, while others have a fee attached. "They'll get the benefits of being a client," Long says. "And we hope when they are ready, they'll move into the incubator." Currently, there is space for about 12 companies, with potential room to grow. Interested businesses can find out more on the CoWorks website, where interpreters can fill out an application. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Nights out Cincinnati

By Scott Beseler

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Arts + Culture

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March 5, 2013

One weekend. Two nights of Cincinnati. Soapbox's managing photographer Scott Beseler tours the Art of Food in Covington and the Platter Party in Brighton. The result? A taste of fashion, music and fun in the city. Video by Scott Beseler.

Video The Kentucky Struts: Country Road

By Keith Neltner

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Arts + Culture

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March 5, 2013

Northern Kentucky filmmaker and designer Keith Neltner, who recently launched Neltner Small Batch, collaborates with musicians, both local and national. Here's an example of his art direction, and directoral skills, with The Kentucky Struts. Video courtesy Keith Neltner.