Carlson Elrod to Host 2014 M. Edgar Rosenblum Awards at Irondale, 6/5

Carlson Elrod (The Heir Apparent, Peter and the Star Catcher), has signed on as Master of Ceremonies for this year's INSPIRE/THE M. EDGAR ROSENBLUM AWARDS, a benefit for the Irondale Ensemble's theater and education programs for youth. He will host a diverse and exciting group of performers including the great banjo player, Hubby Jenkins (Carolina Chocolate Drops), members of PigPen Theatre Company, Catscratch Dance Theatre, Letter of Marque Theatre Company and of course the Irondale Ensemble. According to Jim Niesen, Irondale's Artistic Director ,"We're so honored that such amazing performers are coming out to support us. Music, especially traditional music has always been a major stylistic element in our work. So has dance. Bringing everyone together is a perfect mix".

The fourth annual M. Edgar Rosenblum Awards will be given at a ceremony on June 5, during a benefit for the Irondale Ensemble Project at the Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street, in the BAM Cultural District of Fort Greene. Awards will be presented to Tucker Reed, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Marvin Carlson, Sidney E. Cohn Professor of Theatre, Graduate Center, CUNY, and New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. The event will be co-chaired by David Lombino, Director of Special Projects at Two Trees Management Company and Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater, Yale University.

M. Edgar Rosenblum (1932-2010), enjoyed a remarkable career in arts management that shaped and gave power to regional theatre in the United States. His legacy will be honored with the first M. Edgar Rosenblum Awards to be given at a ceremony on November 15, at the new Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street, in the BAM Cultural District of Fort Greene. His longtime artistic partner at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven CT., Arvin Brown, called him "one of the most influential executive directors in the country". Tickets to the benefit are $150-$200. For information call: 718 488-9233.

The Irondale Ensemble Project, established 28 years ago, is a permanent ensemble known for its innovative theatrical productions as well a ground-breaking education programs with teachers and students in public schools, incarcerated men and women, and adolescents at risk of AIDS/HIV. The founders of Irondale, Jim Niesen, Barbara Mackenzie-Wood and Terry Greiss first met when they were hired as young actors at Long Wharf in 1977.

According to Artistic Director, Jim Niesen, "Working at Long Wharf in a tremendously supportive creative environment, gave us the model of how we wanted to keep working throughout our careers. It also brought the three of us together in what clearly became, for all of us, our most important professional and personal relationship."

Terry Greiss, Irondale's Executive Director said, "Jim and I have been working as a team for 36 years. Although we didn't set out to model ourselves after Arvin (Brown) and Edgar, it was an important and successful example of partnership that we were exposed to early in our careers".

Barbara Mackenzie-Wood, now Head of the Acting/Music Theatre Program at Carnegie Mellon University said, "Edgar was a mentor for us all. When we started Irondale, he was always willing to give us advice or talk to our board. I think he was proud of what we created and we were always quick to acknowledge our roots. The honorees we have chosen are people that Edgar would be proud to have his name associated with."

Schedule of Events:
6:30pm - Cocktails and a sumptuous buffet of hors d'oeuvres.
7:45pm - Award Ceremony and performances by the Irondale Ensemble, Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Catscratch Dance Theatre and .
9:00 pm - Coffee, and dessert.
9:30pm - The Irondale Center comes alive at Night! Stay For the After Party!

DETAILS:

What: Inspire: The M. Edgar Rosenblum Awards
When: Thursday, June 5, 2014, 6:30 - 9pm
Where: Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street
Info: www.irondale.org / 718.488.9233

About the Honorees:

Tucker Reed is the President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP), a not-for-profit local development corporation that serves as the primary champion for Downtown Brooklyn as a world-class business, cultural, educational, residential, and retail destination. Under Tucker's leadership the DBP has become the driving force behind the emergence of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle as a key contributor to the growth of the innovation economy in NYC.

From 2008 - 2009 Mr. Reed worked for the State Department in Baghdad, Iraq on the rebuilding of the City and serving as Chief of Staff of the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

Prior to joining the State Department, Tucker was the founding Executive Director of the DUMBO Improvement District, responsible for launching the organization in 2006 that has overseen the flourishing development of that waterfront office and residential district. Previous to his DUMBO position, Tucker was a Senior Policy Advisor for the Department of Small Business Services in the Bloomberg Administration.

Marvin Carlson is the Sidney E. Cohn Professor of Theatre, Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens, the ATHE Career Achievement Award, the ASTR Distinguished Scholarship Award, the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, and the Calloway Prize for writing in theatre. He is the author of twenty-one books in theatre studies.

Senator Velmanette Montgomery (NY District 25) is recognized for her effective leadership and steadfast commitment to her constituents of north and central Brooklyn as well as to New Yorkers statewide.
In her role as the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Children and Families, Senator Montgomery is committed to helping young people achieve positive outcomes through reform of the State's juvenile justice, foster care and adoptive care systems.

About Irondale: As a 31 year old Ensemble, Irondale has received national and international accolades for its theatrical performances which are often driven by themes that emerge from the social and political climate, as well as the ability to take unique approaches to well known tales. Now with their own space, the Irondale Center in Fort Greene they have also been instrumental in supporting the work of emerging and mature artists.

The Irondale Center, part of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District is uniquely and entirely run and maintained by the Irondale Ensemble. A beautiful and historic space, the center is a long-dormant Sunday school building attached to the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian church. The church boasts an incredible history in its own right, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to positive social activism. Since it opened in 2008, the Center has hosted the work of Sarah Ruhl, BH Barrie, Anthony Braxton, and emerging artists like PigPen Theatre. American Opera Projects, FLICfest, and In Pursuit of Freedom a collaboration with Brooklyn Historical Society and Weeksville Heritage Center.

Irondale's Mission: Through the power of the ensemble process, Irondale creates and presents theater, performance and education programs that challenge traditional assumptions about art, and help us to better understand today's world. The Irondale Center, our theater, laboratory and classroom, is a home for ensemble artists of all disciplines and cultures.