Ridgefield Arts: The Show That Never Ends

RIDGEFIELD, CT — One glance at the reader-generated events calendar for the Ridgefield Patch reminds me that the town doesn't have an Arts Scene -- it has multiple scenes. Classes, films, live music, theater for and by every age level, occupy just about every business hour of every venue downtown.

Anyone who snarks "those who can't do, teach" have obviously never met Katie Torpey, who is beginning a 6 week scriptwriting course at the Ridgefield Playhouse this week. She has sold several screenplays, written for television, and worked for numerous studios and networks. Her original screenplay, The Perfect Man, was released in theaters in June 2005, starring Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear and Chris Noth. The following year, her romantic comedy, On the Other Side, hit theaters in Bollywood and was a big hit. She wrote and directed the independent film Truth About Kerry, shot in Ireland starring Stana Katic (Castle), which was released in April 2012. She also co-created "Mother Up!" an animated TV series about motherhood starring Eva Longoria. It was one of Hulu's first original TV shows and premiered in 2013-14 and ran for 13 episodes on Hulu and City TV in Canada.

But will all that going on, Katie still found time to launch her own production company last year, Your Story Productions. It's a Film, Television, and Digital Media Company that focuses on helping creators to "discover and write the stories they are meant to tell." It may not be exactly your cup of Joe, but we all have that one Ridgefield friend who walks through her days as if a hidden cameraman was filming her every Fosse-twitch, so maybe get her involved. Even if she doesn't get a script deal out of it, it's still cheaper than therapy. For more info, see the Patch Calendar.

While trying to track the ever-growing roster of Ridgefield dance schools, photography schools, painting schools, writing schools and theater schools, it's easy to lose sight of the school-schools. One of the Town's hidden gems is Ridgefield A Better Chance, whose mission is "to prepare talented and motivated young women of color for academic success and leadership in college and American society." Are you on board with that? I'm on board. And we can both show our support and get our allspice on at the same time by attending their "A Taste of the Caribbean Barbecue," on Sunday, Oct. 14 from 3-7 p.m. at Silver Spring Country Club. There'll be face painting, games, a photo booth, a steel drum band (naturally) and Salsa demonstrations and lessons by Arthur Murray Dance Studio (They're GREAT, by the way! Just re-opened in Danbury, and everyone is raving...) See the Patch Calendar for more info and registration.

There's a rock-n-roll sweet spot in every man's life, some song or album that gets planted in his brain during his mid-teens. It defined him then, or even more significantly, who he pretended to be. That seed, whether injected with power chords, synth riffs, achingly insightful lyrics or some combination of the three, is dug so deeply into his psyche, no amount of mundane life choices can ever uproot it. He may grow up to become a banker, IT analyst or CEO, yet let him hear a song from that album, and he is again standing alone in/against the world, hair piled high, Ray-Bans on, dangerous and misunderstood.

I was 17 years old when Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Works, Vol. 1" was released, and its bombastic mix of epic and acid would enthrall me past decades of punk, new wave, grunge, industrial, hip-hop and whatever Kids These Days are calling what they're streaming now. This week I had the chance to interview Carl Palmer, ELP's lone surviving member, on the occasion of his new venture, "Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy: Emerson Lake & Palmer Lives On," coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse Friday night at 8 p.m. It's an absolutely amazing show, made astounding by the absence of any keyboardist in the new trio. Maybe I will see you there -- I'll be the misunderstood-looking guy in the back.

Photo of Katie Torpey provided.