Random House Releases "Community Sourced" Wizard of Oz Audiobook

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 26, 2010

During this June's American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Random House Audio, in partnership with OverDrive, Inc. and First Book, recorded a "community sourced" audiobook of L. Frank Baum's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In a recording studio set up inside OverDrive's Digital Bookmobile, 301 amateur narrators voiced Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow one paragraph at a time.

The recording features an introduction/author's note read by 2010 Newbery Medal winner Rebecca Stead (author of When You Reach Me), as well as readings by Dennis Lehane, Ken Burns, and Cory Doctorow, among other award winning children's, young adult and adult authors, librarians attending the conference, DC locals and visitors.

Random House partnered with OverDrive (the leading provider of downloadable media to libraries) and First Book (an organization that provides books to underprivileged children, families and schools) to help spread the word about digital audiobooks. The finished recording will be available on http://www.firstbook.org/wizard with all proceeds benefiting First Book.

Random House Audio will be donating 5,000 children's audiobooks to First Book as part of the project.

About Random House Audio

The Random House Audio Publishing Group is the preeminent audio publisher working in the industry today, publishing more than 300 titles a year from bestselling authors like Dan Brown, John Grisham, Stieg Larsson, Sue Grafton, Sophie Kinsella, J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Rick Riordan and Christopher Paolini. For more, please visit http://www.randomhouseaudio.com.

About OverDrive, Inc. and the Digital Bookmobile

OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. They deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for thousands of publishers, libraries, schools, retailers, and aggregators serving millions of end users. The Digital Bookmobile is a high-tech 18-wheeler touring North America on behalf of public libraries. This 74-foot community outreach vehicle has traveled 52,000 miles to more than 270 events to raise awareness about digital book downloads from the library. http://www.overdrive.com http://www.digitalbookmobile.com

About First Book

First Book is an award-winning nonprofit organization that has provided more than 70 million new books to children from low-income families. To support First Book's mission to provide new books to children in need, please go to http://www.firstbook.org and click "Get Involved." Any eligible program or school nationwide serving children from low-income families can gain access to free books for the children they serve and all of First Book's resources by registering with First Book at http://firstbook.org/register.

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RENEGADE THEATRE EXPERIMENT CONTINUES INAUGURAL SEASON WITH DRAMA, DANCE, ART, AND COMMUNITY

(PRWEB) August 3, 2002

SAN JOSE, CA?August 1, 2002?No rest for the wicked. After a successful run of Wendy McLeod?s Sin, Renegade Theatre Experiment presents the second show of its inaugural season?Hear Me Roar: women?s images of self. Comprised of two one-act plays and an original dance piece, Hear Me Roar celebrates women while looking unflinchingly at a society which threatens their self-worth. "Everyday we are bombarded with images of what sexy and attractive women are supposed to look like,? says artistic director Sean C. Murphy. ?These messages have devastating effects on women's sense of power and self-esteem.? The evening of theatre and dance exploring this issue opens August 21. Hear Me Roar continues to perform August 22-24 and Aug. 28-31 at Santa Clara University?s Fess Parker Studio Theatre.

The first play, Mary Gallagher?s ?Chocolate Cake,? takes two very seemingly different women (one a country girl and one a city slicker) and throws them together in a hotel room during a women?s conference. In fact, both have compulsive over-eating in common, a fact revealed in funny and poignant fashion. ??Chocolate Cake? centers on the struggle for attaining the societal goal of being Barbie and the damaging effects in has on our characters' self esteem,? says Murphy, the play?s director. ?The average woman stands 5'4", has a 36-37" bust, 29-31" waist, 40"-42" hips, is 145 lbs, and wears a dress size of 14, and yet she is told she must look like a Barbie doll. How many women do you know that are 6'0" tall, have a 39" bust, 19" waist, 33" hips, weigh 101 lbs, and wear a size 4?? The play ?Chocolate Cake? was originally produced and commissioned in 1980 by the Actors Theatre of Louisville with Kathy Bates in the cast, and later produced as part of the off-Broadway hit Win/Lose/Draw.

?Chocolate Cake? is followed by ?Inner Struggle,? a premiere dance piece by Evangeline Maynard, a founding member of Renegade Theatre Experiment. Maynard found inspiration in the dramatic pieces and her own observation of modern culture: "'Inner Struggle' deals with the perceived power of the outer beauty glorified by society and each woman's daily struggle to feel sexy, beautiful and strong inside."

The evening concludes with ?The Most Massive Woman Wins,? a powerful and celebrated one-act play by Madeleine George, directed by Elizabeth Thies. Set in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic, the play uses unconventional theatrical technique?emphasizing monologue but including playground chants?to illuminate the forces which shape self-image in women. According to Thies, ?The characters move from memories of struggles and feelings of isolation to a sense of community, support and acceptance--of each other and of themselves.? ?The Most Massive Woman Wins? premiered at the Public Theater in New York City as part of the 1994 Young Playwrights Festival.

The evening?s ensemble cast of actors and dancers includes Thies and Maynard, as well as Sarah Almazol, Iris Benson, Janine Saunders, Whitney Q. Stebbins, Katie J. Thies, and Adrianne Wilkinson. All are local actors.

RTE?s newly christened technical director Jim Gross (lighting designer for Sin) heads up a technical staff including set designer Keith Marshall (Sin), lighting designer Erin Murphy, sound designer Kevin Kelly (Sin), costume/makeup designer Adrianne Wilkinson, and props designer Danielle A. Perata.

Aug. 23rd and 29th performances will be followed by a talkback with directors, cast, and community leaders (including San Jose State professor Robin Lasser and U.C. Davis professor Kathryn Sylva). A display of photography from Ms. Lasser?s and Ms. Sylva?s Eating Disorders: Disordered Culture project will be presented in the Fess Parker lobby throughout the run.

The Renegade Theatre Experiment began in May 2001 as a group of alumni from Santa Clara University joining together to develop as actors. The group practiced monologues in a workshop format for a couple of months, but then collectively decided that--rather than auditioning for local theatre companies?they could be a local theatre company. A core group of committed ?renegades? formed the board of directors, set to work picking shows, finding venues, and planning for an uncertain future. The driving force, Sean C. Murphy, stepped forward as Artistic Director of the company. The rest of the founding board of directors includes Peter Canavese, Kevin Kelly, Keith Marshall, Evangeline Maynard, Whitney Q. Stebbins, and Blythe Thomas.

Renegade?s 2002 inaugural season kicked off in June with Sin, Wendy MacLeod?s modern morality play, which blends comedy and drama in telling the story of a woman who reevaluates her life in the wake of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In October, RTE mounts Stephen Malatratt?s baroque horror thriller The Woman in Black, in which the old-fashioned ghost story gets a spine-tingling, purely theatrical update.

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YogaSoul Center Offers a Free Week of Classes to New Pilates Students - Creating the Gift of Fitness and Community During the Holiday Season

Eagan, Minnesota (PRWEB) December 15, 2011

Release holiday stress and create whole-body fitness with Pilates classes at YogaSoul Center in Eagan. All new students receive 1 week of unlimited classes!

The full-scale studio offers a full range of Pilates classes that strengthen without adding bulk, increase flexibility, develop core strength, improve posture, increase energy, as well as promote weight loss. Pilates can also create a long, lean appearance.

Pilates creates body awareness that can change the daily lives of people of all ages, ranging from the average person to athletes, as well as those with physical injuries and in need of rehabilitation.

YogaSoul Pilates instructor Shannon McGarrigle can attest to Pilates? power.

?I have gained abdominal control and strength, and have defined arms and legs that are stronger than the ones I had during high school when I was in tennis, track, and cross country skiing,? said McGarrigle, who has been teaching at YogaSoul since spring of 2009. ?Pilates is a way to invest in your body. The concentration and focus used leads to increasing your own knowledge of your posture, as well as your learned bad habits. The Pilates method creates a stronger center to rely on, and teaches you how to be more effective in your movements, whether it be running on a treadmill, skiing or even carrying groceries.?

She said Pilates at YogaSoul is special because it creates a community environment where people can practice without a sense of ego or competition.

Mat classes, equipment and private sessions are available. Mat classes give an overall body workout and teach the fundamental floor exercises and principals of breathing, concentration and coordination. Reformer, Chair and Cadillac Pilates equipment were invented by Joseph Pilates to bring the mat principals to a whole new level. With the equipment, resistance is built into the exercises and utilizes hundreds of exercise variations. It can also be modified to suit the needs of any fitness level, as well as people rehabilitating from injury.

YogaSoul Center?s mission is to help clients win the battle against stress. It has an extensive class offering in several styles of yoga, including Kundalini, Hatha, Yin, and Vinyasa. It boasts a fully equipped Pilates studio and offers many kinds of classes, including Zumba, Tai Chi and belly dancing. Its full roster of teachers and healers provide clients with a variety of healing services, including intuitive readings, Reiki, Thai yoga bodywork, Ayurveda, energy work and several others. YogaSoul also hosts special workshops and Kundalini yoga teacher trainings.

To see a full schedule, make an appointment with a healer or sign up for a class, visit YogaSoul?s website, http://yogasoul-center.com/. New students get their first week of classes free.

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