Norah O'Donnell

fyi
by Debbi Honorof
Picasso and His Women
The Art League of Long Island presents a
special evening dedicated to Pablo Picasso.
Enjoy a special presentation by artist and art
curator Franklin Hill Perrell about how Picasso’s
painting style changed with each new woman
who entered his life. Complete the evening with
tapas, lite fare and Spanish wine. Tickets for this
fundraising event are $50 for members and $75
for non-members. To reserve your seat, contact
Bobbie Janowitz at 631-462-5400 x227 or visit
artleagueli.org.
Wedding Dress Exhibit at Old Westbury
Gardens
Westbury House is a magnificent, Charles IIstyle
mansion on the grounds of Old Westbury
Gardens. Given the indescribable beauty of the
gardens, the wide open space provided by 200
acres, and the myriad variety of events offered,
some visitors never quite make it inside—which is
unfortunate. The house, decorated with priceless
antiques, paintings, and original furnishings, is
well worth experiencing on its own under any
circumstances, but particularly now through
mid-June when various rooms of the house will
display antique wedding dresses, tuxedoes, hats,
luggage, accessories and other items spanning
the decades from the 1880s through 1940s, and
created by designers including Henri Bendell,
Louis Vuitton, and the House of Tappé. The
exhibit is included with the $10 regular admission
($8 Seniors, $5 Kids 7-17). Old Westbury Gardens
is located at 71 Old Westbury Rd. in Old
Westbury. For information, call 516-333-0048 or
visit oldwestburygardens.org.
Living, Out Loud: Writers Riff on Love,
Sweat & Fears
Six acclaimed Long Island writers; Claudia Gryvatz
Copquin, Robin Eileen Bernstein, Iyna Bort Caruso
and Paula Ganzi Licata with special guests Ellen
Meister and Barry Dougherty—wear their hearts on
their sleeves and put their deepest thoughts on the
line in a live reading of personal essays that are funny,
provocative and sometimes heart-breaking. The
event takes place on Sunday, June 2 at 3 pm at the
Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor and
is free with museum admission. For information, call
516-484-9338 or visit nassaumuseum.org.
Organize Long Island
Summer is a great time to “lighten up,” says
professional organizer Alice Price. She offers tips
for organizing your physical and emotional “stuff.”
Longtime Port Jefferson resident
Corinna Mendis is a Physician Assistant
in the Emergency Room at St.
Charles Hospital and Rehabilitation
Center in Port Jefferson, but now she
can add “TV Producer” to her resume.
Prior to attending PA school, Corinna
worked as a volunteer, intern, advocate
and counselor at Pax Christi
Hospitality Center in Port Jefferson,
a men’s shelter that operates under
the umbrella organization of Hope
House Ministries. The experience
left an indelible impression on her
and prompted her to write a pilot TV
script for a series she calls “Not in My
Neighborhood.” She hopes the series
will highlight the often unseen humanity
of the homeless population.
After several attempts to get an outside
producer interested in financing
her series, Corinna decided to take
matters into her own capable hands
and produce the TV pilot herself. She
joined with co-directors Barry Gribble
Your Home: Once a week, pick up 10 items and
donate them to a thrift shop. Your house will feel
lighter and cleaning will be easier.
Your Papers: Bring one of your “piles” to the
pool or the beach and sort out the trash from
the treasure or bring a bunch of magazines and
browse through them. Toss the trash into the
recycle bin and go home feeling lighter.
Your Closet: Turn all the hangers in your closet
so that the hooks are facing you. As you wear
an item and return it to the closet have the
hook face the back. Early in August, see what
is still on hangers hooked toward you. You can
probably toss those items and not miss them
at all.
Your Mind: What little thing has been niggling
around in the far corners of your brain These
issues get heavier with time. Taking care of them
relieves the tension in your shoulders and puts a
spring in your step!
Your Stuff: Keep a large tote stocked with
towels, sunscreen and a trashy novel. When the
opportunity to hit the beach arises, you’re ready!
For more information, visit organizelongisland.com
or call 631-748-9778.
Meet This
Long Island Woman
Corinna Mendis
Physician Assistant and TV Producer
and Kevin Good, hired professional
actors, and took a two-week vacation
from her day job to oversee the filming.
The resulting 22-minute TV pilot
was filmed entirely on location at Pax
Christi Hospitality Center and had
its local premiere at Theater Three
on Main Street in Port Jefferson
last summer. Since then, Corinna
has moved on to the next step—
meeting with distributors to find
the best home for her series. She
is also in the pre-production phase
of a project entitled “Little Egg,” a
short film about a woman searching
for her daughter’s father. Written
by David Moyes and directed
by McKenna Dabbs, filming begins
in May in New York City.
When Corinna was approached
recently to be interviewed for
TV Writer Podcast, she jumped
at the opportunity to share her
unique experience with other
writers. The primary goal of
TV Writer Podcasts is to offer
stimulating podcast interviews
with working writers in various
genres and parts of the television
industry.
6June 2013
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