Artist in Residence: Margaret Liston Cooking with my Ancestors Reading/Cooking Demo

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. 

Residency 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.