Welcome to ESU Happy Hour! The ESU has planned a series of programs to connect and reach out to our members through programs that are engaging, fun, and informative on a wide variety of topics. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge.  Speakers may also suggest a unique cocktail for you to create and enjoy at home. These programs are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Many speakers will provide exciting participation opportunities with fun give away books and products at the end of each program.

We invite members to suggest topics for future ESU Happy Hour Programs at this link. Cheers!

Adelaide Alsop Robineau, (1865-1929) is considered one of America’s preeminent studio potters. She began her ceramics career as a china painter, painting designs on porcelain blanks produced by other craftsmen. After moving to Syracuse with her husband in 1901, Robineau started experimenting with making her own porcelain forms.

She quickly became a master of the medium, known for decorative techniques that included intricate excising and carving away of clay. Robineau developed an innovative approach to glazing her ceramics, experimenting with, and perfecting complex crystalline glazes in greens, blues, ivory, and gold.

In 1910, Adelaide Robineau created The Scarab Vase, a porcelain masterpiece that famously took 1,000 hours of laborious hand-carving to complete. Garth Johnson, the Everson Museum of Art’s Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics will explain how Robineau sparked a revolution in ceramics, and why she deserves to be seen as a feminist icon.
 
This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the Syracuse Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free to attend, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

REGISTER HERE

About Garth Johnson

Writer, curator, and educator, Garth Johnson is the Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. Before arriving at the Everson, Johnson served as the Curator of Ceramics at the Arizona State University Ceramics Research Center. Johnson has also exhibited his work and published his writing nationally and internationally, including contributions to the recent books Funk published by Natsoulas Press and Funk You Too: Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture published by the Museum of Arts and Design. 

Johnson is a self-described craft activist who explores the craft’s influence and relevance in the 21st century. His research interests range from 1960s and 70s artist-led movements in the field of ceramics to the intersection of clay, video, and performance.

Cocktail
 
Old Pal
The Old Pal is a Prohibition-era cocktail, a variation of the Negroni, made with equal parts rye whiskey, Campari, and dry vermouth, typically stirred and garnished with a lemon twist. It is known for being drier and spicier than its cousin, the Boulevardier (which uses sweet vermouth), with the rye providing a peppery kick.
 
Ingredients
1 oz Rye Whiskey, 1 oz Campari, 1 oz Dry Vermouth, and Lemon peel for garnish.
Use French vermouth to celebrate Robineau’s French husband, Samuel, plus Campari to celebrate Robineau’s triumph at the 1911 World’s Fair in Turin, Italy.
Combine all three liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. 
Stir until well-chilled (about 30 seconds). 
Strain into a chilled coupe or rocks glass (with a large ice cube). 
Garnish with a lemon twist, expressing the oils over the drink before dropping it in. 

A critically acclaimed one-woman play, by Carole Levin, in collaboration with Tamara Meneghini and Sabin Epstein, that combines Elizabeth I’s own letters and speeches, the poetry of Shakespeare, and music of the period to reveal a complex woman and ruler reflecting on her life and reign.  The play, which has performed to sold out audiences at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and elsewhere, explores her inner thoughts, fears, loves, and triumphs, from the Spanish Armada to her relationships with her cousin,Mary, Queen of Scots, her mother, Ann Boleyn, her sister, Mary Tudor, and both Robert Dudley and the Earl of Essex, challenging perceptions of the “Virgin Queen.” The program will include excerpts from the performance.

REGISTER HERE

About Tammy Meneghini

Tammy Meneghini is the co-creator, collaborating writer, producer, and plays the role of Elizabeth I in Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words, a full-length solo play.  She has toured the play to various theatres and venues in the United States, as well as being featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024, receiving 4 and 5-star reviews to sold out audiences.  She is an accomplished actor and director, based in Colorado, where she works frequently onstage and off.  Currently, she is in the BETC (Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company) production of Mary Jane, by Amy Herzog.  She is one of the founders of the Rocky Mountain Artists Safety Alliance and collaborated with regional theatre companies to create the Community Standards for Theatre for the Colorado Theatre Community. She is on the faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she teaches courses in acting, movement, voice, musical theatre, and the annual senior showcase of work in NYC.  Her work on the Elizabeth Project continues to grow and play to receptive audiences far and wide.  

For more information, please visit:

www.tamarameneghini.com

About Mary Coleman Way

Mary Coleman Way has made a lasting impact on the theater community by dedicating more than a decade to leading Southwest Shakespeare Company, where she is now Vice President of the Board of Directors. A multifaceted artist, she is a member of the League of Professional Theater Women, an NEA adjudicator, and a frequent participant in classical theater auditions and ESU, Kennedy Center, and HSMT competitions. She is also a writer for film, stage, and television, a director, composer, and administrator.  Mary’s commitment to the arts is furthered through her active involvement on the Boards of Arizona Citizens for the Arts, Southwest Shakespeare Company, and the National Board of the English Speaking Union. Beyond Shakespeare, Mary, alongside her husband, founded Fit Via Vi, a film production company that has expanded to include Broadway and TV, earning several Tony and Oscar nominations. Most recently, the company produced Redwood, the highly acclaimed Broadway musical starring Idina Menzel, Sugarcane, a 2025 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary, and ARCO, a 2026 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature Film.

Happy Hour Cocktail

Queen Elizabeth loved a good beer. So take out a Blue Moon with a refreshing slice of lemon or lime, and enjoy! Cheers!