Watercolor by Cassandra Austen thought to be Jane
Why didn't you ask her to turn around?

"Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together." 

Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra 9 January 1796. Jane Austen's Letters 4th ed. Deirdre Le Faye p. 1

 Event:    JASNA CWNY December Meeting

Topic:    "Cassandra at 250: An Appreciation"

               A talk by Marie Sprayberry, JASNA CWNY member

When:    Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 1 pm EDT (2nd Saturday)

Where:  Online through Zoom, pre-registration required

Registration: CLICK HERE

Cassandra Austen was Jane Austen's beloved sister. This month Marie Sprayberry will tell us more about Cassandra. Marie writes:

"Although we're all looking forward to Jane Austen's birthday on December 16, we have another Austen's milestone birthday coming up: Jane's beloved older sister, Cassandra, turns 250 on January 9. Unfortunately, Cassandra is often viewed these days only as the relative who burned many of Jane's letters. But, as usual, the truth is more interesting and more complicated. Join us on December 10 on Zoom at 1 pm to learn more!"

Marie is a life member of JASNA and has spoken at our regional meetings previously. Just a year ago she spoke to us about "Martha Lloyd and Cooking at Chawton Cottage"

Please join us as Marie Sprayberry tells us about someone who was a very important part of Jane Austen's life.

A Tea Wreath Event

A cozy tea wreath made by you
to keep you warm the winter through

Event:    JASNA CWNY November Meeting

Topics:  Holiday Tea Wreath Workshop AND

              Discussion of the recent JASNA Conference in Victoria, BC

When:    Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 1 pm EDT 

Where:  IN PERSON at Pittsford Barnes & Noble Community Room

Please join us and make a Thanksgiving wreath, an Advent wreath, or an All Seasons wreath.

We'll supply the wreath frame, colorful clothespins, teabags, and a Jane Austen or teapot ornament! 

You bring a decorative bow and scissors.

You can also bring your own teabags in paper wrappers, extra teabags for others to use, or extra bows or ribbons.

After we get started on the wreaths, our members who attended the AGM in Victoria will share their favorite moments with us.

This one has a pretty bow
to brighten a day filled with snow

 October Meeting Cancelled

Our October meeting was going to be a review of the recent JASNA Annual Meeting in Victoria. However, several of our members who were at the AGM will be unable to attend our review.

Therefore, we have decided to combine the October topic with the November meeting. In November we will meet to make tea wreaths and discuss whatever we wish to discuss including the AGM. More about that later.

Thank you for your understanding. See you in November.

AGM Sneak Peak

 

From Prada to Nada
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29499612

Event:    JASNA CWNY September Meeting

Topic:    "From Prada to Nada: The Dashwood Sisters in Los Angeles"

               A talk by Alice Villaseňor, JASNA-CWNY Member and Associate 

               Director of the Civic and Community Engagement Office at Buffalo State 

               College

When:    Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 1 pm EDT 

Where:  IN PERSON at Pittsford Barnes & Noble Community Room

The Annual General Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia is rapidly approaching. Alice Villaseñor and Celia Easton from our region will both be presenting at the conference. At our September meeting we are pleased to have Alice present the talk she will be giving at the AGM.

Here's the abstract of the talk:

From Prada to Nada: The Dashwood Sisters in Los Angeles

"This session examines the ways in which From Prada to Nada (2011) uses Sense and Sensibility to highlight issues facing Latinx communities in Los Angeles. We will delve closely into Austen’s first chapter in order to highlight how the film uses Austen’s story of displacement of the Dashwood women to highlight the displacement of Latinx communities. We will also discuss the film’s critique of Anglocentrism, including Olivia’s (Fanny Dashwood’s) overt racism; ignorance (in Nora’s case) or self-loathing (in Mary’s case) of one’s cultural roots; the othering of the Spanish language; and the illegal and disrespectful treatment of Latinx workers."

Alice is a recognized Jane Austen scholar and has contributed often to the Annual General Meeting. Here s a bit about her background from the AGM program:

"Alice Villaseñor is the Associate Director of the Civic and Community Engagement Office at Buffalo State College. She has published on the Austen family, Austen’s fiction, Austen film adaptations, and Austen societies. A lifetime JASNA member, she was the 2006 JASNA International Visitor and a past Board member of JASNA and the Southwest Region. She has served on the JASNA International Visitor Program Committee and is a current member of the JASNA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee."

Please join us for this meeting, which will be in person at Barnes and Noble.

Masks and full vaccination with booster are required for the meeting.

Manydown

 

Manydown 1833
By George Frederick Prosser (1805-1882)
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50634218

May Meeting

Event:    JASNA CWNY May Meeting

Topic:    Manydown, a new Jane Austen play

               Performed by Sarah Rose Kearns & Laura Rocklyn

When:    Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 1 pm EDT 

Where:   On Zoom

Registration: Click HERE to register and receive a link

Manydown Manor was well known to Jane Austen. She and Cassandra were friends with the Bigg sisters and it was the place where Jane received her only known marriage proposal, from Harris Bigg-Wither. After what must have been a difficult night, Jane finally turned down the proposal and went on to become one of the most well-loved authors in the English language.

In her play Manydown, Sarah Rose Kearns imagines what that night must have been like for Jane and Cassandra. At our May meeting, Sarah Rose Kearns and Laura Rocklyn will perform the play, and take us back 220 years to a night that may have been a turning point in English literature.

The performers are both very accomplished Jane Austen fans. Please read about their backgrounds below, and join us at our May meeting for their performance of Manydown.

Performer Backgrounds

Sarah Rose Kearns is a writer, performer, and lifelong Austen enthusiast. She studied acting with Dan Daily, Ragnar Freidank, Austin Pendleton, and many others; and she holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Columbia University. Her stage adaptation of Persuasion debuted off-Broadway in 2021, while her one-act play Manydown, which imagines one important night in the life of Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra, has recently been produced as a radio drama, available to purchase through Audible. Rose is the most recent recipient of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) International Visitor Program fellowship; she will travel to Chawton, UK, in the summer of 2022 to conduct research for another biographical play about the Austen sisters. She is a frequent speaker on Austen and the art of adaptation, and has discussed her work at such venues as The Peabody Institute in Baltimore, The Jane Austen Summer Program in Chapel Hill, HB Studio, and The New York Society Library. She serves as a member of the JASNA committee for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Laura Rocklyn (Jane) is an actress, writer, and Janeite based in Boston, MA.  Laura has performed with regional theaters across the country where favorite roles have included Lydia in Pride & Prejudice at Round House Theatre, Elinor (u/s) in Sense & Sensibility at The Folger Theatre, Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice and Marianne in Sense & Sensibility at The Classic Theatre of Maryland. Laura has performed her one-woman show on Jane Austen, Who Dares To Be an Authoress? for JASNA regions and educational groups across the country.  Her original short play Emma is Presented in Washington City premiered as the Curtain Raiser for the JASNA 2016 AGM in Washington, DC, with Laura in the role of Louisa Catherine Adams.  Laura presented her one-woman play about Charlotte Brontë, To Do More and Better Things, as a part of the North American Friends of Chawton House 2021 Speaker Subscription Series.  She holds an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. www.LauraRocklyn.com

Jane Austen's Mean Girls

Lucy reveals her tie to Edward
http://mollands.net/etexts/senseandsensibility/snsillus.html

 "Fortunately for her, they had now reached the cottage, and the conversation could be continued no farther. After sitting with them a few minutes, the Miss Steeles returned to the Park, and Elinor was then at liberty to think and be wretched." Sense and Sensibility chapter 22

Event:    JASNA CWNY (virtual) March Meeting

Topic:    "Jane Austen's Mean Girls: Duets and Duels"

               A discussion led by Celia Easton, JASNA-CWNY member and

               Dean of Academic Planning and Advising, Professor of English, SUNY Geneseo

When:    Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 1 pm EST 

Where:   Online

Registration: click HERE

Jane Austen's characters are not always heroes. Even Austen's most endearing characters have flaws. Elizabeth Bennet just can't get over being described as "tolerable". Fortunately, Elizabeth realizes her mistakes and learns to better perceive her own character after receiving Darcy's letter. 

"She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. -- Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd." Pride and Prejudice chapter 36.

However, there are some characters in Jane Austen's novels who are just plain mean. Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility intends to have Edward, and, under the guise of friendship, wants Elinor to know it.

Then there is my all time favorite mean girl, Lady Susan. Yes, she needs to do what she needs to do in order to survive, but her whole attitude is fraught with meanness. There does not seem to be a shred of compassion in anything she does.

This month JASNA Central and Western NY invites you to a discussion of "Jane Austen's Mean Girls: Duets and Duels" led by Celia Easton. Celia writes: 

"This meeting with be an interactive discussion on Zoom (including Zoom “polls” for participation) exploring the kinds of “mean girls” who appear in Jane Austen’s fiction and deciding — or not — who’s the meanest of them all."

So if you ever wanted to truly understand some of Jane Austen's less endearing (but always fascinating) characters please join us for this for this discussion. Put aside Elizabeth and Elinor for a bit, and let us know with whom you would least like to have tea.

 She was in dancing, singing, exclaiming spirits.

-Emma

The Jane Austen Ball is back!

Jane Austen Ball Weekend

Saturday & Sunday, April 30-May1

Registration opens March 1

Visit here for more information.

Bath From Pump Room to Confectionary Shop

While walking in Bath ,Anne meets Admiral Croft
http://mollands.net/etexts/persuasion/prsillus.html

 Event:    JASNA CWNY (Virtual) February Meeting

Topic:    "'The Shops are Tastefully Laid Out; Capacious and Elegant':

                Shopping in Bath with Anne Elliot & Friends"

                A talk by Ann Buerman Wass, JASNA Maryland Member

When:    Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 1 pm EST 
Where:   Online through Zoom, pre-registration required

Registration: Click HERE to register

Two of Jane Austen's novel take place at least partially in Bath. Our speaker writes:

"Bath was second only to London as a place to shop. In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Anne Elliot visits the city. Using quotes from the book, circa 1815-1816, as Anne and her friends walk the streets of Bath, Dr. Wass rounds out the picture–from the Pump Room to the baths, and a confectioner’s shop to a gunsmith. She does this using a compilation of newspaper advertisements from The Bath Chronicle; contemporaneous images, including views and a map of the city, fashion plates, and caricatures; and extant objects. So, ladies, strap on your pattens, and gentlemen, grab your umbrellas for this shopping tour of the city."

Please join us as Ann Bauerman Wass takes us on an exciting trip to Bath (virtually).

Jane Austen Birthday Celebration

 

Cuts off a Long Lock of Her Hair
C.E. Brock
http://mollands.net/etexts/senseandsensibility/snsillus.html

Event:    JASNA CWNY (Virtual) Jane Austen Birthday Celebration

Topic:    "A Young Lady of Spirit Happened to be at the Playhouse":

                Austen Re-Writes the Archetypal Coquette for Regency England

                A talk by Claudia Martin, Adjunct Associate Professor at 

               Binghamton University, and JASNA CWNY Member

When:    Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 1 pm EST 
Where:   Online through Zoom, pre-registration required

Notes:     Enjoy birthday cake and/or popovers at home

               Don't forget a suitable beverage on hand for the birthday toast!

Registration: Click HERE to register.

Once again we will celebrate Jane Austen's birthday with a virtual gathering. This year's meeting will feature Claudia Martin speaking on: "A Young Lady of Spirit Happened to be at the Playhouse": Austen Re-Writes the Archetypal Coquette for Regency England. Claudia gave this talk at the recent AGM and we are delighted to have her bring it to us in the Central and Western NY Region.

The speaker writes: The figure of the coquette, a woman publicly performing femininity in pursuit of pleasure and masculine attention, was an archetype that Austen knew well from plays and fictions of the 18th century. This presentation will look at theatrical influences on Austen’s flirts, using film clips to suggest why the coquette readily adapts to film and cross-cultural adaptations.

Claudia Martin is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Binghamton University in both the English Department and the Engineering School, teaching 18th and 19th century British Literature, Law and Literature, and Bad Girls and Wicked Women in Fiction. Her research focuses on the relationship between novels of the long 19th century and the network of laws and socio-legal practices that dispossessed women. 

Please join us for the Birthday Luncheon talk.