After The Dinner Party with Marc Smith, Billy Branch, and Naomi Beckwith
April 3rd, 2012
Dinner Party regulars said it was the best show yet, with high caliber guests MCA Curator Naomi Beckwith, Founder of the Poetry Slam March Smith, Blues Legend Billy Branch, and savory Italian dishes by Three Aces’ Matt Troost. Click the pics to watch highlights from show.
Marc Smith broke out into the audience with punching hyperbolic lines and colorful onomatopoeia. Billy Branch surprised and fascinated everyone with his four harmonicas that he demonstrated brilliantly. Branch and Sons of the Blues are set to headline at the Chicago Blues Festival on June 10. Guests said they were in awe of his presence and the blues history he regaled for the audience. Naomi Beckwith answered a tough question about museum accessibility by reminding the audience that publicly funded museums must be responsible to the public by offering “pay what you can” admission.
Buy tickets to the show recommended by Time Out Chicago for after work fun!
Guests quickly devoured a sautéed gnocchi pasta tossed with mesclun greens and topped with shaved Parmesan. Troost finished off the night with a buffet of Italian ribolitta, a re-boiled dish with yummy mushy bread and soft noshing vegetables. Chef Troost emphasized Three Aces’ locally sourced ingredients, conscious treatment of animals, and seasonal menus.
The theme of the night centered on how the artists “bring art to the public” through music and poetry education in schools and after school, or in the case of MCA, after work during it’s Tuesday free hours and summer Jazz on the Terrace. Rather than wait for the public to come to museums, The Dinner Party guests stressed bringing art out of the museums.
The prizes were incredible: free passes to MCA, a Billy Branch CD, tickets to Marc Smith’s Slamworks inaugural season–an art education program using slam poetry as a tool. Four members of the live audience and the viewing audience got lucky with the questions they tweeted to the artists. The insightful questions were submitted via Twitter to the artists throughout the show.
Buy tickets to the show recommended by Time Out Chicago for after work fun!
The Dinner Party continues Monday, April 30th with Saturday Night Live‘s (1985-1990) Nora Dunn (Entourage, Harry’s Law, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and Bruce Almighty). The evening will also feature Project Runway‘s Peach Carr and Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Lane Alexander. Come see acclaimed restauranteur and owner of the new Publican Quality Meats butcher shop, Paul Kahan, one of the restauranteurs behind Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, The Violet Hour and Big Star. The Dinner Party will open the show with rhythm dance troupe, BAM.
Buy tickets to the show recommended by Time Out Chicago for after work fun!
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