14th Street Y to Host Annual Gala Next Week, Featuring Meet & Greet with GIRLS' Alex Karpovsky

On Wednesday, May 25, 2016, The 14th Street Y will host its annual Gala featuring a VIP Rooftop Reception and Cocktail Party & Program, including cocktails by Tito's Handmade Vodka, in its dynamic theater space at The 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th Street, NYC. The VIP reception will feature live music and a special meet & greet with guest Alex Karpovsky, star of hit HBO show Girls. The MC for the night, Vanessa Hidary, The Hebrew Mamita, and a cast member from her production, Kaleidoscope, will take guests through an expressive night exploring diversity and Jewish identity. DJ Rabbi Darkside will heat things up and get people on the floor for a dance party later in the evening. Learn more about the night's events and get tickets before it's sold out: http://bit.ly/14StreetYGala.

Tickets are $500 for the VIP Reception and Gala Cocktail Party & Program, and $150 for the Gala Cocktail Party & Program. Proceeds from the Gala benefit the 14th Street Y. If you can't attend but would like your support to appear on screen during the Gala program, you may text a pledge with donation amount and message anytime before 9pm on May 25 to646-887-0014. To make a standard contribution, please visit: http://bit.ly/14StreetYGalaDonate.

Actors/Artists:

VIP Rooftop Reception with Alex Karpovsky

Vanessa Hidary aka The Hebrew Mamita

MaNishtana, Kaleidoscope cast member

Band performance by: The Tali Rubinstein Quartet; Asher Kurtz - Guitar, Angelo Spampinato - Drums, Yoni Marianer - Bass, Tali Rubinstein - Recorder Player

Favors by Colson Patisserie

Patrick Wise, Writer/Comedian and After School Program Coordinator, along with a student from the 14th Street Y After School program.

Internationally-acclaimed Spoken Word Artist/Writer/Director, Vanessa Hidary has aired three times on "Russell Simmons Presents 'Def Poetry Jam'" on HBO, and is featured in the award-winning film "The Tribe." Her poem "The Hebrew Mamita" garnered over half a million YouTube hits, igniting widespread discussion among Jews and non-Jews regarding the subject of identity. She is the founder/producer and director of KALEIDOSCOPE, a narrative-arts driven initiative highlighting the stories of Jews of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, observance levels, and interfaith experiences, www.kaleidoscopejews.org. Vanessa received an M.F.A. in Acting from Trinity Rep Theatre Conservatory and currently lives in Manhattan. Her first collection of poems and stories is titled "The Last Kaiser Roll in the Bodega."

Alex Karpovsky studied visual ethnography at Oxford University before wasting the next few years of his life trying to become the next Andy Kaufman. He now acts and makes movies. Alex's award-winning debut feature, THE HOLE STORY, earned him a slot in Filmmaker Magazine's 25 new faces of independent film and a plastic key to a small city in Northern Minnesota. His subsequent feature-length films include WOODPECKER (SXSW 2008), TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP (SXSW 2009), RUBBERNECK (Tribeca Film Festival 2012) and RED FLAG (Los Angeles Film Festival 2012). As an actor, Alex currently plays the role of Ray Ploshansky in the HBO comedy series GIRLS, and has had leading roles in feature-length films that have shown at the Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Los Angeles, Tribeca and SXSW film festivals.

MaNishtana is an Orthodox Jewish blogger, public speaker, and author of "Thoughts From A Unicorn: 100% Black. 100% Jewish. 0% Safe." When not addressing heady issues of race and religion in American Judaism he can be found pursuing other lofty goals, mostly to the end of avoiding having to take out the garbage, much to his wife's chagrin. https://manishtana.net/

Rabbi Darkside is a Buffalo-born Brooklyn-based Hip Hop Artist. His dynamic live show is world-renowned, blurring the lines between Hip Hop, Jazz, Folk and Poetry with cutting-edge improvisations and collaborations. From BK to Brasil, Austin to Amsterdam, Paris to Prague, he has riveted crowds with his unique brand of stagestealing Hip Hop. His new album, Prospect Avenue, topped the U.S. Hip Hop Radio Charts (#4 on CMJ Hip Hop Charts, #1 on College Radio Charts Hip Hop) while receiving rave reviews. It includes feature contributions from Da Beatminerz, Nickodemus, Homeboy Sandman, Illspokinn & DJ Rob Swift, as well as some of NYC's finest musicians.

Sponsors

Glenwood Management and Howard L. Zimmerman Architects along with Unity Building Services, Goldman Sachs, ASM Integrators, Jack Resnick and Sons, Skyline Restoration, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Union Square Wines & Spirits, Breakthru Beverage Group, Dos Toros Taqueria, Colson Patisserie, and Village Print & Media.

Speakers:

Alan van Capelle, President & CEO, Educational Alliance

Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, 14th Street Y, Executive Director

Joe Persky, 14th Street Y, President of the Board

Art Installations:

Parallel Moments

Video Installation, edited by Sagie Baron and curated by Courtney Smith and Ronit Muszkatblit

Beautiful Work

An exhibition of children's art curated by Eve Chwast