Today, March 25, is what Jane Austen and her Regency contemporaries knew as "Lady-Day." In the Church of England calendar, it was (and still is) the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary--that is, the day when the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she was to become the mother of Christ. In the Regency calendar, it was one of the four "quarter days" on which important business was transacted. In particular--as Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown explained in Rochester on March 20, and will explain again in Binghamton on April 10--it was the day of the agricultural new year, and accordingly the day on which farm workers either renewed their contracts with their employers or sought new ones.
It was also the date of at least one important financial transaction in the Austen family. On December 9, 1808, Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra that "my Uncle and Aunt [James and Jane Leigh Perrot, Mrs. George Austen's brother and sister-in-law] are going to allow James [the oldest Austen son] 100 pounds a year....The Hundred a year begins next Ladyday." In retrospect, we might well ask ourselves whether the wealthy Leigh Perrots couldn't have allotted the 100 pounds a year to Jane and Cassandra, who arguably needed the money even more than James and his family. However, as Jane herself expressed no open resentment on the occasion, let us as her 21st-century admirers try not to express any.
And if you'd like to learn more about the Regency "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days," do come to the JASNA Syracuse meeting at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton, on Saturday, April 10, at 2:00 PM. Regency history? Information about joining JASNA? Live English country dance music? The company of your fellow Janeites? Who could resist?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Whatever Shall I Wear?
Co-coordinator Lisa Brown reprises her popular workshop on assembling a Regency wardrobe on Sunday, March 7 at 5:00 pm in Rochester at the Friends Meeting House at 84 Scio St. Learn how to tie a cravat, choose a dress pattern, curl on ostrich feather and much more. A savory tea (optional) will be served during the presentation for a cost of $5.00.
Ball Dress from 1815
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
"Pride and Prejudice" at Skaneateles High School
Late-breaking news: "The Skaneateles High School Drama Program will present Jane Austen’s romantic comedy Pride and Prejudice March 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Skaneateles High School. For tickets, call 291-2296. Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. All of the wit and romance of Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel comes to life in this refreshingly fast-paced and engaging new adaptation by renowned producer and director Jon Jory."
This much is from the Skaneateles Central School District website--but your Regional Coordinator has also just learned that Hana Polacek (one of the Young Ladies from Joanna Manring's Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies) will be playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Yours truly is going to try to catch one of the performances this weekend for this reason alone, and encourages all CNY Janeites who can manage it to do the same!
This much is from the Skaneateles Central School District website--but your Regional Coordinator has also just learned that Hana Polacek (one of the Young Ladies from Joanna Manring's Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies) will be playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Yours truly is going to try to catch one of the performances this weekend for this reason alone, and encourages all CNY Janeites who can manage it to do the same!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Spring Plans for JASNA Syracuse
Weary of our winter weather? Don't despair; spring is coming--and the JASNA Syracuse Region is making plans for it!
First, we'll be holding another of our informational meetings on Saturday, April 10, at 2:00 PM--this time at RiverRead Books, 5 Court Street, Binghamton (www.riverreadbooks.com). Your Regional Coordinator will present information about JASNA and membership in JASNA. Then, as this meeting's example of "what we talk about when we talk about Jane Austen," Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown will discuss the "quarter days" on which Austen and her Regency contemporaries would have conducted various business matters: Michaelmas (Sept. 29), Christmas, Lady Day (March 25), and Midsummer (June 24). Finally, as a special treat, two Binghamton-area country dance musicians will favor us with a few tunes!
Then on Saturday, May 22, also at 2:00 PM, we'll be hosting a second meeting at Books and Memories, 2600 James Street, Syracuse. This meeting's topic will be "In the Garden with Jane Austen" (and we'll certainly be referring to the splendid book with that title by longtime JASNA national member Kim Wilson). We'll look at pictures of the beautifully restored garden at Jane Austen's Hampshire home, Chawton Cottage; talk a little about Regency-era gardening fashions and trends; and share some garden-related passages from the novels (attendees should plan to bring their favorites!).
First, we'll be holding another of our informational meetings on Saturday, April 10, at 2:00 PM--this time at RiverRead Books, 5 Court Street, Binghamton (www.riverreadbooks.com). Your Regional Coordinator will present information about JASNA and membership in JASNA. Then, as this meeting's example of "what we talk about when we talk about Jane Austen," Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown will discuss the "quarter days" on which Austen and her Regency contemporaries would have conducted various business matters: Michaelmas (Sept. 29), Christmas, Lady Day (March 25), and Midsummer (June 24). Finally, as a special treat, two Binghamton-area country dance musicians will favor us with a few tunes!
Then on Saturday, May 22, also at 2:00 PM, we'll be hosting a second meeting at Books and Memories, 2600 James Street, Syracuse. This meeting's topic will be "In the Garden with Jane Austen" (and we'll certainly be referring to the splendid book with that title by longtime JASNA national member Kim Wilson). We'll look at pictures of the beautifully restored garden at Jane Austen's Hampshire home, Chawton Cottage; talk a little about Regency-era gardening fashions and trends; and share some garden-related passages from the novels (attendees should plan to bring their favorites!).
JASNA Traveling Lecturer to Visit Rochester
Our sister region, JASNA Rochester, will be having a special meeting on Saturday, April 17, at 11:00 AM. Professor Peter Graham of Virginia Tech University, one of the national JASNA organization's three Traveling Lecturers for 2010, will be speaking on "Jane Austen and the Labor of Leisure." The presentation, which is funded in part by a JASNA Traveling Lecturer grant, will be held at the Rundel Auditorium in the Downtown Rochester Public Library, and will be followed by lunch at the library's in-house branch of the Simply Crepes restaurant. There will be a $25 charge for the event, but in your Syracuse coordinators' opinion, it should be well worth it. A registration form is available at the new JASNA Rochester website (see the "Links" list at right).
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Dance Like Elizabeth and Darcy
Have you ever wanted to dance like Emma and Mr. Knightley, Catherine and Henry Tilney or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Here's your chance to learn how. No partner needed. Lots of fun in a low pressure atmosphere.
Dance Classes in Rochester
English Country dance classes begin. 3:30 – 5 pm at the Friends Meeting House.
Beginner sessions Feb. 14, 21, 28 & Mar. 7 will teach the basics of English figures and style in the context of simple dances. Newcomers are urged to attend all of these. Ball Preparation sessions continue Mar. 14, 21, 28 and Apr. 11, 18 & 25, offering a chance to learn & practice dances that will be done at the Jane Austen Ball on May 2 – strongly recommended for Ball registrants who don’t dance regularly. $5 per class or $40 for all ten.
http://www.rochestercontra.com/
Monday, February 15, 2010
"Lovers' Vows" Review
The staged reading of the 1798 Elizabeth Inchbald play Lovers' Vows at the Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton on Saturday, February 13, was a highly enjoyable event for cast and audience alike. Members of the Colgate Jane Austen Book Club and JASNA Syracuse (there is some happy overlap between these two groups!), plus several brave members of the local public, read the roles.
Heather Elia played the tragically wronged heroine, Agatha Friburg, with suitable gasps, moans, and swoons. Karen Kawa was brave and martial as Agatha's illegitimate son, Frederick, and Clara Lantz played Agatha's repentant seducer and Frederick's father, Baron Wildenhaim. Nadia Vedder was a properly pert Amelia, the Baron's legitimate daughter; Theodore Ayoub III played the clergyman Anhalt, Amelia's former tutor and present object of affection, who also assists in resolving Agatha's and the Baron's dilemma. Among the minor characters, Deborah Knuth Klenck distinguished herself in all the roles Tom Bertram plans to enact in the Mansfield Park production of the play, particularly the Cottager and the rhyming butler, Verdun. Signe Weaver also provided comic relief as Cottager's Wife, and three courageous members of the audience (April, Clarence, and a gentleman whose name your Regional Coordinator didn't catch) took on several minor roles in Act I at very short notice. Finally, yours truly (A. Marie Sprayberry) played Count Cassel, Amelia's conceited, foppish suitor.
Below, Anhalt describes the nature of good versus bad marriage to Amelia. (A local daughter and mother, members of the audience, look on at right.)
Next, Agatha prepares to spurn a purse of gold sent by the Baron to relieve her financial distress (she misinterprets it as an attempt to buy her off). Three dollars' worth of pennies tied up in a cloth napkin makes a very satisfactory "thunk" when it hits the floor, incidentally! Frederick is at right.
Finally, Cottager's Wife and Cottager debate the propriety of accepting the gold. (The practicality of Cottager's Wife carries the day!)
And for those of us who just can't get enough Austen-related acting this month, remember that JASNA Rochester will be doing a reading of "The Trial of William Walter Elliot" from the JASNA Script Bank this coming Saturday, February 20 (see "Events" at right for details).
P.S. The Colgate student newspaper has also reviewed the presentation (http://www.maroon-news.com/austen-fans-act-out-1.1163939). And Deborah Knuth Klenck has identified the helpful spectator who played the Countryman in Act I as E. Adger Williams.
Heather Elia played the tragically wronged heroine, Agatha Friburg, with suitable gasps, moans, and swoons. Karen Kawa was brave and martial as Agatha's illegitimate son, Frederick, and Clara Lantz played Agatha's repentant seducer and Frederick's father, Baron Wildenhaim. Nadia Vedder was a properly pert Amelia, the Baron's legitimate daughter; Theodore Ayoub III played the clergyman Anhalt, Amelia's former tutor and present object of affection, who also assists in resolving Agatha's and the Baron's dilemma. Among the minor characters, Deborah Knuth Klenck distinguished herself in all the roles Tom Bertram plans to enact in the Mansfield Park production of the play, particularly the Cottager and the rhyming butler, Verdun. Signe Weaver also provided comic relief as Cottager's Wife, and three courageous members of the audience (April, Clarence, and a gentleman whose name your Regional Coordinator didn't catch) took on several minor roles in Act I at very short notice. Finally, yours truly (A. Marie Sprayberry) played Count Cassel, Amelia's conceited, foppish suitor.
Below, Anhalt describes the nature of good versus bad marriage to Amelia. (A local daughter and mother, members of the audience, look on at right.)
Next, Agatha prepares to spurn a purse of gold sent by the Baron to relieve her financial distress (she misinterprets it as an attempt to buy her off). Three dollars' worth of pennies tied up in a cloth napkin makes a very satisfactory "thunk" when it hits the floor, incidentally! Frederick is at right.
Finally, Cottager's Wife and Cottager debate the propriety of accepting the gold. (The practicality of Cottager's Wife carries the day!)
And for those of us who just can't get enough Austen-related acting this month, remember that JASNA Rochester will be doing a reading of "The Trial of William Walter Elliot" from the JASNA Script Bank this coming Saturday, February 20 (see "Events" at right for details).
P.S. The Colgate student newspaper has also reviewed the presentation (http://www.maroon-news.com/austen-fans-act-out-1.1163939). And Deborah Knuth Klenck has identified the helpful spectator who played the Countryman in Act I as E. Adger Williams.
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