Music | Susanne Gervay's Blog

Posted by Susanne Gervay on Aug 3, 2011 in Music, News | 0 comments

Alexis Fishman is Brilliant in 1933′s Berlin Cabaret

Cabaret performer: Alexis Fishman in the production Der Gelbe Stern or The Yellow Star. Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Reginald Theatre at the Seymour in Sydney is a cabaret scene – round tables cluster around the stage with the melodic 3 piece band playing 1930′s music. Alexi Fishman enters, her nose a little bloodied from German youths who attacked her as she arrived for her final performance at Der Gelbe Stern.

Alexis’ performance is flawless with her powerful narrative voice engaging the audience in songs that range from melodic and moving, to rowdy and risque until the audience is there – at the Cabaret.

Written by James Millar & Alexis Fishman, it is an evening that entertains and challenges bringing to the stage a time in history that changed the world.

My recommendation: DON’T MISS IT!

Posted by Susanne Gervay on Jul 24, 2011 in Music, News | 0 comments

No to Drugs-Music,Youth & Amy Winehouse Dies 27

Amy Winehouse’s death is such a tragic waste – talented singer, loving family, a voice of youth.

Drugs are ‘friends’ that invite people in for a party, but drugs are not friends and take everything:-

They destroy familes, young lives, community.

Young people are so vulnerable – I personally know young people trapped by drugs, some are in and out of mental health hospitals, can’t keep a job, live for the next hit and some have died like Amy.

Music is such a real way to reach emotions, express emotions, reach into lives – but it’s got to be NO to drugs.

Amy’s death is so deeply sad.

videoclip of Psycho Dad by Tory, in 'That's Why I Wrote This Song', www.youtube.com/user/sgervay

Scene from videoclip of Psycho Dad

Posted by Susanne Gervay on Jan 27, 2010 in Charities, I AM JACK, Music, News, The Hughenden, Writers Festivals, Writing | 2 comments

I Love Goa, IASA Conference 2010

Snapshots of exotic Goa, Indian scholars and writers, an experience that I will always remember with special people. Yanthan may be a professor but he can sing like a star and laugh until we all laugh with him. Mridusmita from the state of Assam is studying for her Phd at the Indira Gandhi National Open University with Irene Phalung Awungashi. These beautiful girls will change India with their sense of social justice and they’re great dancers too.

Meenakshi and Sujata Rao who both presented at the IASA Conference, are coming to launch Fear Factor: Terror Incognito at The Hughenden in Sydney 21st March 2010. it’ll be brilliant

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Book Reviews, I am Jack, and Super Jack

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:18 PM PST

One of my favourite books ever is I am Jack, by Susanne Gervay (Angus and Robertson/Harper Collins Publishers 2000). A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to see I am Jack performed on stage in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), and what a treat that was! In my post about it, I described the performance as having “lots of opportunities for laughter, but also moments when 150 children sat transfixed and made not a sound.”Next is humour. Does that seem to conflict with such a serious theme? Not at all with Gervay’s deft handling. There is drama, tension, conflict AND humour as we get to know Jack and his family.

That brings me to character – Gervay’s characters are thoroughly believable. I’m sure I know Nanna – enjoys a chat, a little hard-of-hearing, loves to score a bargain or ten at the shops – and all the other characters are just as real. Even when the bully George made me furious on Jack’s behalf, he was always three dimensional, not a stereotype.

Above all though, as with many great books, I think I am Jack

shines because of its authentic voice. From the first lines, we hear the narrator as a young boy. We experience his anguish; share his corny jokes one minute and pant with him the next as he runs to escape the bullies. Jack grows, changes, learns lots about who he is and what is important to him during the book, and through him, so do we.

Super Jack (Angus and Robertson/Harper Collin 2003) continues with the great characters we met in I am Jack. This time we experience the highs and lows of Jack’s life against the backdrop of a holiday on the Gold Coast. Super Jack

introduces a new problem for Jack in the form of Leo, his sort-of-step-dad Rob’s son. Jack also must cope with worries about Nanna’s health, his growing affection for Anna, and Rob moving in. He’s such a great kid though, you just know he’ll sort it out in the end!

Cathy Wilcox’s illustrations are only occasional in what is really a chapter book. We find them most often as chapter headers. But there are also some quirky, comic-style sketches that contribute an extra visual element to Gervay’s word pictures.

Both I am Jack, and Super Jack are perfect for kids 8-12. They deal with serious issues in a light-hearted way, but above all, are great stories from a superb story teller. If you’d like to take a peek inside, the Harper Collins site offered me the option of letting you browse inside the book via my blog in the widget below.

Susanne Gervay’s own website adds real value to the books. You can check out a cute trailer of I am Jack, link to find Monkey Baa stage show performances, get more information about bullying, and discover a ton of useful literacy activities tied to the books. The great news here too, is that US readers can share the fun – it’s published in the USA by Tricycle Press, an imprint of Random House USA, and has been translated into Korean, Bahasa and Vietnamese.

It’s difficult to pinpoint why I like the novel, I am Jack

, so much. I guess it’s a combination of factors. Firstly must come its theme – bullying. I loathe the consequences of bullying and applaud Gervay for writing a book that shows victims of bullying that they’re not alone in that scary, lonely place. Her honesty and matter-of-factness make this book accessible to kids who may not be able to speak up for themselves.

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2010 – Exciting things:Kids & YA Literature Festival, IBBY Korea NAMI Island Festival, SCBWI Conference at The Hughenden to my new book ALWAYS JACK

Some of my ‘babies’ promoting STORY as a way to reach the world for 2010 are:-

International Conference in GOA India – January 2010

SCBWI International Conference at The Hughenden 17-19th September 2010

The Kids & YA Literature Festival at the NSW Writers Centre Rozelle 3rd July 2010

My new book ALWAYS JACK comes out for Breast Cancer Awareness month October 2010

I AM JACK in the USA published by Tricycle (Random House USA)

PEACE for Kids – 5th Nami Island Children’s Book Festival, South Korea – IBBY (IBBY), UNICEF, UNESCO - November 2010

Storytellers, Partners in Crime, Sydney Writers & Illustrators Network, Launch of ‘Fear Factor – Terror Incognito Picador – at The Hughenden 2010 www.thehughenden.com.au

More News coming … let’s make 2010 an amazing year.

Jamie looks NUTS, but he is having a good time.

Posted by Susanne Gervay on Nov 29, 2009 in Charities, Kids Books, MONKEY BAA THEATRE, Music, News, Writers Festivals, Writing | 0 comments

Monkey Baa Theatre, Siren Theatre, Margaret Wild & the FOX – brilliant theatre

I was breathless as I sat in Studio 2 of the Seymour Centre. Margaret Wild sat next to me as her deeply emotional picture book Fox illustrated by Ron Brooks, emerged onto the stage.

The operatic feel, the friendship of DOG and Magpie as they found love and care despite or because of Magpie’s broken wing and Dog’s one eye and the danger of FOX.