AUTUMN 2024
OCTOBER: Preparing for a Return of Joy. One can feel the power of intention, and one should never doubt the creative power of artists. We balance the Humours, and this election is a choice between oppression and elation, so we certainly know which way to go. Meanwhile, on the research level, October includes preparation for Randall's trip to Pittsburgh at month's end: deep research time with the William Ball Collection at the Carnegie Mellon University Archives. Long wished-for, and now a properly real thing, this opportunity will bend time and re-animate the Backstage Left project: a narrative that gazes back at the American Conservatory Theatre in the mid 1970's.
SEPTEMBER: Autumn Equinox Brings a Bounty. We are completely thrilled to be presenting a special event in Ashland, Oregon, a gathering and reading for our great colleague Jim Edmondson. SQUIRE - The Chronicle of John Hardyng is a book that shines a light on a most special stage production in 1981. It's a memory piece, a salute to a better times for the Arts in America, while concurrently being a clarion call for Peace on Earth - because it's never too late for that, eh? Author Randall Stuart creeps out of retirement to deliver this love letter - on September 16 in Ashland, Oregon, joined onstage with many beloved theatre comrades.
SEPTEMBER: Autumn Equinox Brings a Bounty. We are completely thrilled to be presenting a special event in Ashland, Oregon, a gathering and reading for our great colleague Jim Edmondson. SQUIRE - The Chronicle of John Hardyng is a book that shines a light on a most special stage production in 1981. It's a memory piece, a salute to a better times for the Arts in America, while concurrently being a clarion call for Peace on Earth - because it's never too late for that, eh? Author Randall Stuart creeps out of retirement to deliver this love letter - on September 16 in Ashland, Oregon, joined onstage with many beloved theatre comrades.
SUMMER 2024
AUGUST: "Pre-production" Planning & Editing. A favorite phase of our work is "pre-production" and when are we not "in it?" We are putting together publications, securing a venue, and organizing for the September 16th Special Event. The days are filled with ingenuity and hilarity and deep art. With the help of theatre colleagues Paul Barnes and Hilary Davidson, and the uncanny artistic skill of book designer Robin Chilstrom - our September event is swiftly becoming a reality.
JULY: Both Coasts Have The Most. The surprise of SQUIRE has "flipped the script", and that's much to our surprise and delight. Randall has journeyed to The West to work with book designer Robin Chilstrom to prepare the manuscript of SQUIRE for publication. It will be ready for a September event in Ashland, Oregon to praise our beloved Jim Edmondson, and will also be available for purchase online by late August. Reconnecting with Pacific Northwest colleagues is always dreamy, and in this case there is some true incubation going on.
JUNE: Re-Searching and Re-Membering. Life can be surprising and challenging...and sometimes the Universe requires one to stop and turn attention to larger matters. We did so. June was important, bittersweet, and funny.
JULY: Both Coasts Have The Most. The surprise of SQUIRE has "flipped the script", and that's much to our surprise and delight. Randall has journeyed to The West to work with book designer Robin Chilstrom to prepare the manuscript of SQUIRE for publication. It will be ready for a September event in Ashland, Oregon to praise our beloved Jim Edmondson, and will also be available for purchase online by late August. Reconnecting with Pacific Northwest colleagues is always dreamy, and in this case there is some true incubation going on.
JUNE: Re-Searching and Re-Membering. Life can be surprising and challenging...and sometimes the Universe requires one to stop and turn attention to larger matters. We did so. June was important, bittersweet, and funny.
SPRING 2024
MAY: A Medieval Tale of War & Peace. The month was full-to-the-brim with office set-up in NYC, hours of scanning, handshakes with colleagues, work on both the Backstage Left and The Resplendent West projects. Add to those the preparation for an autumn presentation in Oregon of Randall's new piece SQUIRE. Use the menu bars above or in footer below to learn more about SQUIRE. This unusual manuscript found its rhythm and meaning this month, and now joins the list of active projects for UTB.
APRIL: A Happy Welcome to our New Assistants. Roy Pace and Alison Barnwell join our efforts. Roy tutors students in calculus and is a graduate student at NYU working on his PhD in Physics. Alison Barnwell, our noble charioteer, is zip-zapping us around NYC behind the wheel. And so, let the Capricorn and Virgo inspired organization begin! We're working on our archives, and preparing for a "soft launch" on April 29th for the Backstage Left project. This month will be full of the finest needlepoint and cross-stitching as we set up the office, systems, and patterns - and so, yes, April will indeed be the crewel-est month, Mr. Eliot.
MARCH: A Relocation to Inwood in Manhattan. We are following our internal "marching" instructions, and making a strategic move to a place we love deeply: the Inwood neighborhood at the tip-top of Manhattan Island. We'll be happily nestled between the Hudson and Harlem rivers. This position gives us a great view of The Cloisters, is the ultimate stop of the A Train, and is marvelously close to our historical research in both Westchester & Rockland counties. With many thanks to the friends & volunteers who believe in our enterprise, and have helped to relocate us.
APRIL: A Happy Welcome to our New Assistants. Roy Pace and Alison Barnwell join our efforts. Roy tutors students in calculus and is a graduate student at NYU working on his PhD in Physics. Alison Barnwell, our noble charioteer, is zip-zapping us around NYC behind the wheel. And so, let the Capricorn and Virgo inspired organization begin! We're working on our archives, and preparing for a "soft launch" on April 29th for the Backstage Left project. This month will be full of the finest needlepoint and cross-stitching as we set up the office, systems, and patterns - and so, yes, April will indeed be the crewel-est month, Mr. Eliot.
MARCH: A Relocation to Inwood in Manhattan. We are following our internal "marching" instructions, and making a strategic move to a place we love deeply: the Inwood neighborhood at the tip-top of Manhattan Island. We'll be happily nestled between the Hudson and Harlem rivers. This position gives us a great view of The Cloisters, is the ultimate stop of the A Train, and is marvelously close to our historical research in both Westchester & Rockland counties. With many thanks to the friends & volunteers who believe in our enterprise, and have helped to relocate us.
WINTER 2024
FEBRUARY: Well, here it is, the all-new website. Welcome, we wanted to be certain that you could easily navigate, so don't forget the glyph at the upper left (three little lines) which drops-down the Menu on all of the pages. This site does quite well on a mobile app, although most pages feature a slide-show of images, and that might be best enjoyed on a larger screen. Meanwhile, Randall is busy researching/writing on the two present projects: The Westward Account (an ancestral epic) and Backstage Left (a theatrical recollection).We trust people will be inspired to donate to Upon These Boards. 2024 is the year to re-launch all of our efforts with a dedicated vim & verve...and to properly vim we must acquire monetary verve. February 29, 2024: We Avidly Support Leap Day. One can't help but give a tip-of-the-hat to Leap Day. Thank you Leap Day for your ongoing patience, and dedicated understanding of introversion. In our book? = you are unique and forever 29.