A Work in Progress adaptation of my book, “Basic: The Ammaccapane Family Cookbook”, brought to life in the kitchen of Bethany where the audience comes to the kitchen with me as I tell my Family stories and make the food of my ancestors.
REGISTERResidency Plan:
As a dancer/actor/choreographer I plan to work on adapting my Family’s Cookbook, Basic: The Ammaccapane Family Cookbook, into a Performance piece by combining storytelling and the culinary arts. I want to explore my family’s history by cooking and baking the recipes handed down from my Italian immigrant grandparents. Instead of creating a kitchen onstage, I want to bring the audience into the kitchen of Bethany where they can smell, taste and “feel” the food from beginning to end.
Bio:
Margaret has been interested in movement and what bodies can do since the day she climbed out of her crib. She has participated in a wide range of movement from tree climbing, gymnastics and sports, to Modern Dance (MFA NYU Tisch School of the Arts; Bill T. Jones Dance Co.) mime, aerial dance (Multigravitational Aerodance Group), yoga, Thai Body Work and Pilates. The movement also brought her to her first love, the theatre (BA, Theatre, Bowling Green State University) where she got hooked on the camaraderie and “family” atmosphere created with each show. In her first theatre class “Production and Performance” she learned not only acting but also how to construct the set they would use for performance. This opened the world of Stagecraft and Technical Design which she then continued working throughout her undergraduate years building sets and all other aspects of Production – lighting, sound, props, and costumes. Throughout her theatre and dance career she has worked in Summer Stock (Ohio), Children’s Theatre Co. (New Jersey), Opera (Ohio, Saratoga, NY), Off Broadway (Ohio Theatre, NY), Festivals (Copenhagen International Dance Festival, Denmark), (Midtown International Theatre Festival, NY), (Philly Fringe Festival, PA), (SoloLab, NY) and has choreographed a Community March & Dance for Hudson River Rising – One Billion Rising V-Day event 2013-14 with a fundraiser for Hope’s Door – local Westchester women’s shelter with services for all victims of Domestic Violence. More recently Margaret has conceived, written, and performed 2 solo shows – MentalPause and A Mama Story – integrating dance, storytelling and theatre. In support of these shows, Margaret was awarded a residency at Space on Ryder Farm (Brewster, NY) and an Artist Commission from The Rivertown Artists Workshop (RAW) (Sleepy Hollow, NY).
In addition, she was honored by RAW with a “Sleepies” Art and Performance Award for her choreography and by her community as the Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center Couple of the Year for her service in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, NY. She continues to operate her Pilates Studio – Tappan Zee Body Works in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
Residencies and programs at Bethany Arts Community are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor’s office and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Westchester, and numerous individual donors.