The Navesink and Two River Theater Present The 2016 Salon Series

The salons will feature guest speakers, audience conversation and plays.

Red Bank, NJ (January 20, 2016) — The Navesink (producers of TEDxNavesink, an independently organized event licensed by TED) and Two River Theater present Conversation + Play, a salon series to be held at the Two River River Theater, 21 Bridge Ave. in Red Bank, NJ.

Salons begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner, drinks and conversation, and are followed by a pre-show talk and Q&A with guest speakers followed by a play at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 per salon with the code NAVESINK50, or $120 for all three sessions with code NAVESINK120. To purchase tickets, call Two River Theater at 732-345-1400 or stop by the box office at 21 Bridge Ave. in Red Bank.
Salon 1: Thursday, February 4, 2016

The salon series begins with guest speaker Frank P. Fury, Ph.D. Dr. Fury’s talk “The Heroine in Modern Drama: (Un)Necessary and (In)Sufficient,” which will investigate the nature of the term ‘heroine’ and traces the evolution of the heroine using examples from prominent playwrights.

Fury is a faculty member in the English department at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, where he teaches courses in writing and literature. His scholarly interests include 19th and 20th century American literature, modern drama and sports literature.

The evening’s play will be the world premiere of “Lives of Reason” produced by Two River Theater founder Robert Rechnitz and Kenneth Stunkel. Set at an English department faculty party, the play brings audiences inside the world of academia, and what happens when one woman’s secret passions explode. Directed by Jonathan Fox, former Artistic Director at Two River and now Executive Artistic Director of the Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara.

Salon 2: Thursday, April 28, 2016
The second salon features a talk entitled “Adventure and Growth in Shakespeare's ‘Pericles’” by guest speaker Sue Starke, Ph.D. Starke’s talk will explore how Pericles is part of a specific Greek prose romance tradition with its own adventure template and hero’s journey. Starke is an associate professor in the English department at Monmouth University. Her research and teaching interests include Renaissance literature and culture, the history of the English language, Victorian literature, genre theory and the intersections of literature and art criticism.

Brought to life with original songs by TEDxNavesink 2016 speaker Rinde Eckert and directed by David Schweizer, this exhilarating and mystical production of William Shakespeare’s play “Pericles” is a thrilling and epic tale of adventure, shipwreck and romance. When Pericles uncovers the king’s dark secret, he is forced to flee his kingdom and navigate the roaring sea and its islands’ lovers, magicians and pirates.

Salon 3: Thursday, June 23, 2016
This season’s salon series concludes on Thursday, June 23, 2016 with guest speaker Bill Ditto and his talk, “Using Antiques & Treasured Family Items to Connect with Your Ancestry,” which will illustrate how family-held items, passed down through generations, are valuable tools when learning about ancestry. Understand why preservation does not need to be an onerous task and discover what items are most valuable to keep, or to give to a museum or historical society. Ditto realized a life-long dream to operate an antiques business when he established West Farms Antiques, after he retired in 2010 from a 40-year career in human services. Bill began collecting antiques 47 years ago as a hobby that continues today, with booths in Riverbank Antiques (Red Bank) and Canvas House Antiques (Point Pleasant Beach). His specialties are silver, early American glass, Staffordshire pottery, 18th and 19th century English and American furniture, and early iron utensils and tools.

With a cast led by Barbara Andres, ten veteran powerhouse actresses will perform all 25 roles in director Jack Cummings III’s production of ‘I Remember Mama’ by John Van Druten and adapted from Kathryn Forbes' novel “Mama's Bank Account,” which is loosely based on her childhood. A beloved American classic reborn, the story centers around a working-class Norwegian family during the turn of the 20th century in San Francisco. Celebrated as one of the ten best theater productions of 2014 in The New York Times and praised as “brilliant…transcendent… magical…a gift and a miracle” by Hilton Als of The New Yorker, this production is truly one to warm the spirit.

Visit www.tednavesink.com/salons/ for more information.

About The Navesink
The Navesink is a non-profit based in Monmouth County. It is the parent organization of TEDx Navesink and the Brand New J project. TEDxNavesink is a self-organized annual Monmouth County-based TEDx event dedicated to education, community, innovation and “ideas worth spreading.” Each year, a different theme is chosen to build the day of nonfiction theater. Hundreds of businesses and nonprofit leaders, students from local universities and sponsors plan, manage and fund the all-day event. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.tedxnavesink.com.

About Two River Theater
Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Directory John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, is dedicated to producing great classics from the American and world stage, creating new plays and musicals for the American theater, and serving its diverse and multigenerational community through unique partnerships and education programs. Founded in 1994 by Joan and Dr. Robert M. Rechnitz, Two River Theater is a member of the League of Resident Theaters, Theatre Communications Group, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and

ArtPride New Jersey, and has been designated a “Major Arts Institution” by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Visit www.tworivertheater.org for more information.

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Photo attachment: “Lives of Reason” by Two River Theater founder Robert Rechnitz and Kenneth Stunkel is set at an English department faculty party. The play brings audiences inside the world of academia, and what happens when one woman’s secret passions explode. “Lives of Reason” is directed by Jonathan Fox, former Artistic Director at Two River and now Executive Artistic Director of the Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

TEDxNavesink: Leading Thinkers Present Talks on Acceleration

Saturday, April 11, 2015, Pollak Theatre, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, N.J., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

West Long Branch, N.J. (March 3, 2015) - Leading thinkers including a Pulitzer Prize winner, physicists, computer scientists, researchers, and artists will explore how today’s accelerators and change agents are shaping our future at the TEDxNavesink conference: “Accelerators” at Monmouth University. TEDxNavesink brings the mission of TED Talks to Monmouth County for an all-day live event for the third annual year.

The conference will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Pollak Theatre, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue in West Long Branch, N.J.

“Accelerators are the people, teams, systems that produce surprising growth, speed, progress,” said Gail Woods, chief curator, TEDxNavesink. "We selected the 29 speakers and entertainers from over 200 applications. More than half the speakers, we approached because of their thought leadership, and some come from Europe and California at their own expense to give the talk of their lives.”

“TEDxNavesink 2014 sold out the Two River Theatre a month in advance,” said event founder Brian Smiga. “Monmouth University helped us expand the TEDxNavesink in multiple ways: the 700 seat Pollak Theatre; intimate speaker lunches held in a dozen seminar rooms; a gala reception with entertainment, dinner, wine, beer, and a chance to mingle with speakers, sponsors, professors, and organizations—for an affordable $25 add-on.”

TEDxNavesink is a self-organizing annual Monmouth County-based event dedicated to education, community, innovation, and “ideas worth spreading.” Each year, a different theme is chosen to build the day of nonfiction theater. Hundreds of business and nonprofit leaders, students from local universities and sponsors have planned, managed and funded the all-day event. Sponsors include Monmouth University, Monmouth Medical Center, Sawtooth Agency, Two River Theater, Defined Logic, United Teletech Financial, CMDS Marketing, Phone.com, the NJ Economic Development Authority, and others. Several sponsorship opportunities remain open.

"The partnership between TEDxNavesink and Monmouth University is natural, and its benefits are many," said Stanton Green, Ph.D., dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences. "Millennials face unprecedented change as universities are challenged to create increasingly inventive learning environments. TEDxNavesink presents an amazing opportunity for Monmouth's faculty and students to prepare for the future using the knowledge and experience of a global community of thinkers."

Tickets cost $40 for millennials (those born after Jan 1, 1980), $55 for general seating, and $75 for reserved seating. Attendees are encouraged to add the Navesink Reception with entertainment, dinner, wine and beer from 5 to 8 p.m. for $25. Group discounts are available. To purchase tickets or for more information on the day's schedule and talks, visit www.tedxnavesink.com.

Speakers include the following (the complete line up at www.tedxnavesink.com):

Bora Joon is a composer, vocalist, sound artist and a 2014 TED Fellow. She was named on the list of "14 Artists Who Are Transforming the Future of Opera" by Huffington Post, and her pioneering works have been presented internationally.

Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and fixture on the New York cabaret scene. He is the recipient of the Kleban Prize, Jonathan Larson Award, ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award and MAC John Wallowitch Songwriting Award. He is also a nominee of the Drama Desk Awards and Lucille Lortel Award and composer and lyricist of the upcoming musical "Be More Chill" at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Dan Neil is a Pulitzer Prize-winning car critic whose "Rumble Seat" column appears Saturdays in the "Off Duty" section of The Wall Street Journal. To date, Neil is the only award recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for criticism of automotive arts. He will discuss the ways in which accelerators are changing the rate at which work gets done.

Don Lincoln, particle physicist at Fermilab, uses the Large Hadron Collider (the world's highest energy particle accelerator) to study questions of matter's ultimate building blocks and the universe's origin. He will explore how the true testament to the collaborative potential of the human spirit answers questions that have perplexed humanity for as long as they have been asked.

Dr. Gary Lewandowski is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Monmouth University and director of the Relationship Science Lab. Lewandowski is co-editor/co-creator of www.ScienceOfRelationships.com. He will discuss how to break-up better and why break-ups don't have to leave you broken.

Dr. Lora Aroyo is associate professor of computer science at VU University in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Inspired by quantum physics, psychology and crowdsourcing, Dr. Chris Welty and Dr. Aroyo present a new approach for helping cognitive computer systems deal with context and make better assistants.

Annika Lorienne is co-founder and director of public relations of RadioFlag. Lorienne co-created the company's "Connective Listening" concepts and organized other instrumental aspects of its development. She will discuss how RadioFlag catalyzes empowering radio to better entertain, educate and enlighten people around the world.

Abby Daly is founder and executive director of the Bridge of Books Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that has distributed nearly a half-million books to underserved children throughout New Jersey since 2003. Daly will talk about why it is time to stop assuming children across all income levels have equal access to books.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading." Started as a conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support world-changing ideas with many initiatives. At a TED conference, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. Through distribution networks, TED Talks are shared on TV, radio, Netflix and many websites. The TEDx initiative grants free licenses to people around the world to organize TED-style events in their communities with TED Talks and live speakers. Visit www.ted.com/registration for more information.