Best ongoing feel-good music story: The Local Sound Collaborative
Music educator Ray Mahar launched the Local Sound Collaborative in earnest in 2022 with the goal of putting money in the pockets of Rochester-area musicians. Based on a universal basic income (UBI) model, the recipients of the nonprofit’s Local Artist Grants program get $200 per month for a year — to be used on new gear, groceries, childcare or any necessities needed.
This has been, perhaps unsurprisingly, a highly popular initiative. Mahar and his team receive between 60 and 80 applicants each year, and the community is willing to contribute to its success. The LSC’s first fundraiser yielded $14,000 in donations. When the group staged another benefit in September 2024, they ended up with a whopping $26,113, all earmarked for local music makers.
Such a boost in funding has let the LSC expand its cohort. In 2025, eight musicians — up from six — will receive artist grants, running the gamut from a percussion instructor and a music therapist to a rapper and a folk player. Mahar’s crew also promises more live events this year in order to better focus on the “collaborative” part of the startup’s name.
Zooming out, the Local Sound Collaborative represents a beacon of light in the challenging post-pandemic cultural landscape. With a bastion of community support behind them, Mahar and his partners are exploring other avenues for the LSC to dip into. What could a Rochester music scene look like if local players had guaranteed health insurance? If music education efforts were amplified? If community remained the focus? We just may get to find out together. instagram.com/thelocalsoundcollaborative —PATRICK HOSKEN
Best up-and-coming choreographer: Amya Brice, Grassroots Dance
Performer and choreographer Amya Brice and her company Grassroots Dance Exploration made a clear mark on stages around Rochester in 2024. Brice, a 2021 Nazareth University graduate, presented their first evening-length work, “Hitsville, 1959,” a dedication to Motown music, at MuCCC in 2022. In 2023, “CHOREOMANIA” explored the concept of the uncontrollable urge to dance, giving space for release through movement.
Brice continued to create consistently provoking work in 2024, including an original solo at this summer’s Dances at MuCCC. The solo, which included a mocking exploration of forced joy to the tune of “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, showcased the breadth of Brice’s technique and emotional artistry. During the 2024 Rochester Fringe Festival in September, she choreographed a piece with a cast of nine dancers as part of the School of the Art’s alumni show — a pure celebration of movement and rhythm.
In addition to creating with Grassroots Dance Exploration, Brice is the school administrator at Garth Fagan Dance and a frequent performer and collaborator with the dance theater company Cat + the Coyote. As a performer, Brice fully embodies movement by other artists as well as her own, translating advanced choreography to accessible interpretations.
Brice’s choreography combines modern technique with a groove that’s all their own. Their stylization of classic movements blended with cultural and improvisational inspirations gives Grassroots Dance Exploration a fresh, grounded feel. Brice’s talent, along with their approachability and earnestness has Rochester dancers eager to work with them. This up-and-coming choreographer has established themself as an artist to watch in Rochester, and if this year is any indication, we can count on seeing many more inspiring works from Brice in 2025. grassrootsroc.com —SYDNEY BURROWS
Best theatrical scenic designer: Allen Wright Shannon
When people rave about a play, they usually comment on the performances. And sure, actors are fine and all, but many artists who make a show great never get a curtain call. This year, I’m giving a standing ovation to one of Rochester’s most experienced and gifted scenic designers, Allen Wright Shannon.
Whenever I walk into a theater and am wow’ed by the set, I’m never surprised to see it was designed by Shannon. As the play unfolds, it becomes clear every detail – from the tiles chosen to the color of the wallpaper – was inspired by the story. A great set may impress on first sight, but by the end of the play, it will feel as tangible as the air the characters breathe.
As the resident scenic designer at Blackfriars Theatre, Shannon’s sharp vision and keen understanding of story has transformed the intimate venue into locations ranging from a suburban American family home to the streets of gothic Victorian London. Whether a realistic set — like the decked out Pemberley mansion in “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” — or a more abstract set like the living room amidst a wintry landscape in “Mala,” Shannon’s designs give the audience a visual feast to unpack and the actors a world in which to play.
His decades of experience in both Minneapolis and New York City include designing for film and TV as well as teaching dance and costume design. In addition to Blackfriars, his scenic work has been seen locally at the JCC CenterStage, Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival and SUNY Brockport. Since 2010, he has worked as an assistant professor and resident scenic designer at Nazareth University, passing on his theatrical knowledge to the next generation of artists. Shannon, like his designs, is a gem hidden in plain sight. —KATHERINE VARGA
Best home theater experience: Three Season Theater
Webster resident Rich Adams doesn’t have to go out to a movie theater ever again if he doesn’t want to. He’s got it all, just outside his back door; huge screen, surround sound, stadium seating, popcorn and hot nacho cheese machines — even a well-stocked beer fridge). What sets Three Season Theater apart from others who have installed a home theater in their basement or spare room is the people. Neighbors and friends from local running and beer groups become guest curators and “experience engineers” at this revival house theater focused on cult movies.
The pre-film activities, snacks and drinks are themed to each film, of course. Curators create preview reels with trailers, music videos and promos for each film; these play while guests find their seats. The theater even boasts its own end-of-the-year awards ceremony, handing out tiny gold statues for categories such as “Worst Film,” “Best Film and Food Pairing” and “Best Double Feature.”
This is a home theater, but fellow film nerds (this writer includes himself in that group) are encouraged to reach out and introduce themselves before attending screenings. More info at threeseasontheater.com. —RYAN WILLIAMSON
Best local Elvis historian: Gloria Korlou
From 9 to 5, Gloria Korlou works as a senior software engineer. But off the clock, Korlou lives and breathes her true passion: helping to archive the life and career of Elvis Presley — and the young women who laid that foundation before her.
Korlou has helped amass a collection of film reels, posters, autographs and clothing items from Presley, many of which have never been showcased together before. Energized in part by Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 epic biopic of Elvis’s life, Korlou calls the performer “the blueprint” for modern pop stardom.
But what’s an Elvis historian who has never lived in Memphis doing in Rochester? Korlou partly grew up here; her father headed up marketing at radio station 98 PXY before they left for another market. Korlou decided radio wasn’t her path, but she was drawn to music all the same, especially the stories of the young female fans who helped preserve Elvis’s story through photos and records.
Many of them waited at the gates of Presley’s Graceland estate in the 1960s and ‘70s for him to arrive, thus earning the nickname “gate girls.” Korlou’s operation, Gate Girl Records, aims to continue their work as a historical archive; the company, co-run with Korlou’s Nashville partner Layla Deacon, also provides artist management. (Fellow Memphis musical legend Project Pat, known for his affiliation with Three 6 Mafia, is a client.)
With Korlou as creative director and Deacon as senior archivist, Gate Girl is in trusted hands. This is precisely why Priscilla Presley herself — Elvis’s widow — has given them her blessing. It makes sense that the path of their specialized mission routes through the Flower City. After all, one of Presley’s final tours took him through Rochester’s War Memorial in May 1977, just three months before he died. instagram.com/gategirlrecords —PATRICK HOSKEN
Best bad screening: “The Room” at The Little Theatre
In April, The Little Theatre hosted a screening of “The Room,” a film that is largely considered “the worst movie ever made.” One of the film’s stars, Greg Sestero, was in attendance, which gave great context and behind-the-scenes scoops to writer-director-star Tommy Wiseau’s affectionately maligned cinematic experience.
So, why spend time celebrating something so terrible? It took being shoulder-to-shoulder in a sold out screening at The Little Theatre to understand the magic of “The Room.” I walked into the showing having seen the movie once, but never with a crowd, and it was clearly filled with some of those who have helped elevate the movie to its cult status.
Those who have seen “The Room” countless times know it’s bad. In fact, it seems like everyone but Wiseau knows the movie is bad. From the stage at The Little Theatre, Sestero even told the audience he knows it’s a bad movie. But, no matter how bad “The Room” is, the auditorium was vibrating with excitement.
Like any cult flick, there’s a ritualistic aspect to watching Wiseau’s film. Everyone in the audience recited lines, laughing at the wooden delivery and inane dialogue, but nothing compared to the spoons. Throughout “The Room,” there are scattered pictures of spoons — when they are shown, everyone shouts, “Spoons!” and throws plastic spoons at the screen (a massive nod of respect here to the staff of The Little Theatre, who cleaned up this sea of spoons).
Yes, “The Room” is terrible. To call it a ‘movie’ might even stretch the definition of what makes a movie. But it is an experience that brings people together and packs theaters every time it’s shown. There’s something special about that. In its own way, “The Room” is a reminder of the importance of sharing movies with others. —MATT PASSANTINO
Best clowns around town: Katherine Marino and Ashley Jones
Whatever happens to be the magic ingredients needed to stir up an emerging clown scene in Rochester, Katherine Marino and Ashley Jones have found them. Both are seasoned performers and creators, having worked professionally for many years with PUSH Physical Theatre and numerous local artists. Their speciality is humor—using music, dance, acrobatics, mime and props in any way that might evoke laughter. Though always hilarious, both artists often have an additional layer of emotion and questioning in their creations, showing that clowning can be worth more than just a chuckle.
Marino’s work is clever and well thought through. She befriends every audience, making them feel special for having been invited into her world. With charm, talent and a knack for improvisation, Marino creates accessible characters that bring light and joy to the stage. Jones, who has trained extensively both in the United States and abroad in clowning, is also a master of physical theater. He uses his skillset of athletics and acrobatics to take the humor embedded in his creations to the next level. Jones is an engaging performer, with exaggerated facial expressions and comedic timing that make his characters even more ridiculous than written.
This year, Marino and Jones made concerted efforts to help establish a space for artists interested in physical theater and clowning in Rochester. They began with offering occasional introductory clowning workshops, and quickly realized the level of interest warranted a larger offering. They then established the inaugural RocHaha Festival in September, bringing in well-known clowning artists from all over to perform and teach. With Marino and Jones in the driving seat of the Rochester clown scene, we can expect to see more artists experimenting with humor and hopefully, many more shows that leave audiences grabbing their sides with laughter. rochaha.com —SYDNEY BURROWS
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
