JASNA 2014 AGM Registration Is Coming Soon!

The following is a condensation of two messages from Elaine Bander, Coordinator of the 2014 JASNA Annual General Meeting in Montreal, and Liz Cooper, JASNA’s Vice-President for Regions:

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The 2014 JASNA AGM brochure has finally gone to the printer (whew! what a production!) which means, we hope, that we will meet our target date of May 21 to go "live" with online registration.

As always, we will wait at least two days after the brochure is mailed before we open online registration.  That means that most US members who receive a mailed brochure will get it by the time registration opens.  However, we can't guarantee that delivery will be that quick for everyone, so we strongly urge members to check the JASNA website for the latest AGM information and to download the PDF version of the brochure, which will be available soon at this link.

Also, members who have signed up to receive JASNA AGM Email Updates will receive a notice when the brochure has been mailed and when registration is open online. If members have not joined the JASNA Email Distribution List or signed up to receive "JASNA Email and AGM Email" specifically, they can do so now by visiting this link. 

Those who register later and possibly miss the cut-off should be urged to put themselves on the wait list. Up to 10% of AGM registrants end up cancelling each year for one reason or another. In past years when AGMs sold out quickly, we've accommodated everyone on the wait list. 

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But why wait? Your JASNA Syracuse Regional Coordinators--who would be attending this AGM even if they weren't giving presentations--hope to be among the first in line to register on May 21, and we hope you will be too!

JASNA Syracuse Meeting in Binghamton May 10, and Other News

Lots of news as we head into May!

First, the JASNA Syracuse Region will be holding its May Day meeting (a trifle late) on Saturday, May 10, at 2 pm at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton. Our topic will be the clergy in Jane Austen’s times and in her novels. Because Mansfield Park is probably the novel in which being a clergyman is discussed most extensively--and because 2014 is this novel’s bicentennial year--we’ll probably emphasize MP. But don’t worry: We won’t neglect Mr. Collins and Fordyce’s Sermons, Mr. Elton’s social aspirations, or Henry Tilney’s expertise in muslins! (In the photo above, Action Jane Austen seems well prepared to discuss the Sermons with a Mr. Collins stand-in.)

Second, all 80 of the dancers’ spots for the Jane Austen Ball in suburban Rochester on Sunday, May 4, are now taken--but there’s still time to purchase an observer’s ticket if you hurry! More information can be obtained here.

Third, registration for the 2014 JASNA Annual General Meeting, to be held in Montréal Oct. 10-12, is scheduled to open in mid-May. (A post announcing the opening will go up as soon as it happens. In the meantime, go here for further information.) This year's theme is "Mansfield Park in Montréal: Contexts, Conventions and Controversies." And, as in Brooklyn two years ago, both of your Regional Coordinators will be giving presentations: Lisa Brown will be giving a workshop titled "Fit to Be Tied: The Honourable John Yates's Guide to Tying a Cravat," and A. Marie Sprayberry will be presenting a breakout session titled "Fanny Price as Fordyce's Ideal Woman? And Why?" (Look for a few ideas from the breakout at the May 10 Binghamton meeting!)

Fourth, the second annual Jane Austen Summer Program will be held at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus on June 12-15. This year, Sense and Sensibility will be the focus--and a Syracuse Region member will be one of the speakers: Professor Deborah Knuth Klenck of Colgate University will present a talk titled “Jane Austen’s School of Rhetoric: Style, Substance and ‘Delicacy of Mind.’” (Note: Marie enjoyed last year’s JASP very much, and regrets that conflicting commitments will prevent her from attending this year.) For more information, go here.

Finally, in lieu of a more typical “Box Hill” event in June to conclude the 2013-14 JASNA Syracuse season, your RCs are in the early stages of planning with the JASNA Rochester “Janeiacs” for a joint July visit to Seneca Falls--just at the boundary between the Syracuse and Rochester Regions. We could visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame and/or the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, and take some light refreshment at the Gould Hotel (formerly the Hotel Clarence). Carpooling from Syracuse with Marie would be available, and carpooling among other members would be encouraged. No date for the event has been set thus far, but watch this space for further news!

In Memoriam: Sandra Stevens and Jane Stuart-Andrus

Your Regional Coordinator writes:

I'm sad to have to pass on the news that a JASNA Syracuse member and a kind friend to JASNA Syracuse have both died recently.

First, Sandra Stevens died on March 17. Sandra was the skilled "mantua-maker" featured in this post last year on the JASNA Syracuse blog, and was a dedicated member of both the JA Book Club at the Colgate Bookstore and JASNA Syracuse. I got to know Sandra better through her work on the Regency gown featured in the blog post, and I'm grieved that such a gentle and talented person was taken from us so soon. We send our condolences to Sandra's daughters, grandchildren, and other family members.

Second, Jane Stuart-Andrus--a co-owner of RiverRead Books, JASNA Syracuse's congenial meeting place in Binghamton--died on April 5. Jane's online obituary is a wonderful tribute to a life excellently and energetically lived. We send our sympathies to Jane's family and to her fellow RiverRead co-owners, Connie Barnes and Patricia Hutchinson-Day.

I'll send out a reminder about our JASNA Syracuse May Day meeting at RiverRead (5 Court St., Binghamton, Saturday 5/10, 2 pm) as we get closer to the date.

Two Assemblies in May

After the winter we've had here in Central New York, the prospect of not one but two assembly balls--one in Rochester and one in Spencerville, Ontario, just across the border--is a most welcome one. Here are the details:

First, the Eighth Annual Jane Austen Ball in Rochester, co-sponsored by the Country Dancers of Rochester and JASNA Rochester, will be held on Sunday, May 4, at 2 pm. The elegant private venue that has hosted the Ball for the past several years will once again be the setting (details available upon registration). A full prospectus for the weekend and a registration form are available at this page of the CDR website. The page also includes several YouTube videos, either from previous Balls or from CDR demonstration dances (click on the links for individual dance titles under the "Dance Program" heading).

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Second, some of our JASNA friends in Spencerville, Ontario, have sent us this prospectus for their ball later in May. Our correspondent, The Belle of the Ball, can be emailed at this address, and a YouTube video of last year's ball can be viewed here. The prospectus follows:

My dears, it is with limitless joy that we announce our forthcoming Regency Ball in Spencerville. We hope to enjoy your presence on May 23-25, 2014 for a series of dance workshops and Mrs. Sarah Spencer’s Regency Ball.

Our slate of entertainments is not yet complete, but may we entice you with the following:

Friday May 23 Ball Dances Workshop, 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Saturday May 24 Ball Dances Workshop, 10:00 to noon.

Saturday May 24 Callers Workshop, 2:00 to 4:00, wherein the services of many dancers are required.

Saturday May 24 Regency Ball, 7:30 to midnight, with a light repast at 9:30.

Sunday May 25 Advanced Dance workshop, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Additional fee required.

All dancing takes place at the Spencerville Town Hall.

All dancing workshops are casual dress.

The Regency Ball is mandatory period clothing.

Our caller is our good man David Smukler, with his delightful wife as accompanist, and his band of great renown for the ball.

Cost for this magnificent three-day event is $75 per person, with additional fee of $10 for the advanced Sunday workshop.

We trust we shall be favoured with your presence on this happy occasion.

Your humble servant,

The Belle of the Ball

 

Reminder Update: Ithaca Meeting, Sat., March 8

Here’s a very quick reminder of our JASNA Syracuse/Jane Austen Book Club of Ithaca joint meeting this coming Saturday, March 8, at 2 pm, at the Crow’s Nest Cafe on the second floor of the Autumn Leaves Bookstore, 115 The Commons, Ithaca.

Our topic for this meeting, as noted in earlier announcements, will be “Theatre and Performance in Mansfield Park.” We’ll discuss some of the questions that readers have raised through the years about the planned Bertram/Crawford performance of Lovers’ Vows--as well as the extent to which “all the world’s a stage” for at least some of the characters.

(And as you can see in the photo above, Action Jane Austen has no personal objection to home theatricals. In fact, she quite enjoys acting out dramatic tableaux with her friends Action Sigmund Freud, Action Spider-Man, Action Harry Potter, and Action Crazy Cat Lady, plus numerous cats and a few others. Clearly, Action Sigmund Freud lost the "Argument Clinic" from the Feb. 1 meeting at Liverpool!)

Finally, we pass along a few requests from our hosts for this meeting, the friendly “pirates” of the Crow’s Nest Cafe: Please don’t bring “outside” food or drink into the cafe, and we need to keep our voices to a conversational level, since the cafe shares open space with the rest of Autumn Leaves. We heartily encourage you to purchase food and beverages from the “pirates,” and we should be able to abide by the voice-level request if we refrain from “ranting” like Mr. Yates playing Baron Wildenhaim!

Reminder: JASNA Syracuse/JABC Ithaca Joint Meeting in Ithaca, Sat., March 8

On Saturday, March 8, at 2 pm, at the Crow's Nest Cafe (on the second floor of the Autumn Leaves Bookstore, 115 The Commons, Ithaca), JASNA Syracuse will be joining forces with the Jane Austen Book Club of Ithaca to discuss "Theatre and Performance in Mansfield Park."

As part of our continuing observance of Mansfield Park's 200th anniversary this year, let's think about all the ways in which role playing plays a role in this controversial novel. As the Crawfords and the Bertrams prepare to perform Lovers' Vows, what's the problem with putting on a play at home--or at least this particular play, with this particular cast? Is more acting taking place off stage than on? And did Jane Austen herself disapprove of home theatricals? We'll discuss these and other questions--and perhaps read some of our favorite passages from the play and the novel.

Special note: A JABC Ithaca member has just informed me that this weekend's print version of the Ithaca Times has run an event listing incorrectly giving the date for this meeting as Sun., Feb. 23. The date and time will be as given in boldface above. We apologize for the mixup, and hope to see as many of you as possible on March 8.

A Concert in Ithaca and a Jane Austen Day in Philadelphia

And while we’re thinking and talking about Ithaca, here’s a message from an old friend of JASNA Syracuse, Dr. Joanna Manring--the director of the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (formerly of Skaneateles and now of Lexington, KY). Joanna writes of an upcoming musical event in Ithaca:


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Greetings, friends old and new!

I'm delighted to be coming to Ithaca at the end of March as the soprano soloist for Haydn's uplifting Creation with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and Ithaca College Choir under the direction of Lanfranco Marcelletti. A perfect way to herald spring! The concert will be in Ford Hall on the Ithaca College campus on March 29th at 8 pm.  Tickets are available at the CCO's website.

I hope to see you there!

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In addition, Paul Savidge, Regional Coordinator for JASNA Eastern Pennsylvania, has sent us word of his Region’s forthcoming “Jane Austen Day” in Philadelphia:

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I am writing to invite you and your regional members to Jane Austen Day 2014 in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 26, 2014, sponsored by the Eastern Pennsylvania Region of JASNA. This year's day-long event entitled The Unfinished Jane Austen will be a fascinating exploration of Austen's two unfinished novels, The Watsons and Sanditon, and a provocative discussion of what Austen might have accomplished if she had lived a longer life. We are very excited to have an illustrious panel of Austen scholars joining us for Jane Austen Day. Presentations by Professors Jocelyn Harris, Janine Barchas and Michael Gamer will be the highlights of the event.

Jane Austen Day will be held in the exquisite Grant Room at Philadelphia’s historic Union League and will include complimentary morning tea and coffee, a delicious luncheon, selected merchants including a bookseller, and an abundance of good discussion and fellowship.  Registration must be postmarked by April 5th. Information about Jane Austen Day is available on the Region's website.