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Archives of Previous Announcements and Meetings (2009 and earlier) Please click here to return to the main News page. December 12, 2009: JASNA Pittsburgh celebrated Jane Austen's Birthday on Saturday, December 12 at the Society of Friends Meeting House, located at 4836 Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside (15213). We also took a nostalgic trip back to 1940 and the making of MGM's Pride and Prejudice. With our own Jim Zunic, we looked at MGM ("more stars than there are in heaven") and the people who had a connection with the film, including some who may surprise you! We journied to the time when powerful movie studios stood tall and the country of the two leading players, in a war with the Nazis for its very existence, stood alone. Film excerpts highlighted some of the major controversies surrounding this production. Later that evening, we had a festive holiday night of English Country Dance with live music, focusing on dances from the Austen movies and Jane Austen's own time. It was also at the Society of Friends Meeting House. Click here to view the flyer. The Country Dance & Song Society of Pittsburgh was founded by Englishman Cecil Sharp in one of his song-collecting visits to America in 1915. CDSSP offers monthly English country dances to the public with live music--all dances taught. CDSSP's performance team has danced at many local historical sites and events and features late 18th century dance in costume of the period. September, 2009: The Jane Austen Society of North America Pittsburgh held our 2009 Fall luncheon and meeting on Saturday, September 26 at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. Having made Northanger Abbey the focus of reading groups and discussion during 2009, the group viewed selections from the only two film adaptations of the novel: the spooky and gothic 1986 BBC/A&E production featuring Katharine Schlesinger and Peter Firth and the 2007 ITV/Granada production (with an Andrew Davies screenplay) featuring Felicity Jones and JJ Field. Does Northanger Abbey make for bad film? Both versions have been heavily criticized. Discussion followed the film excerpts. Guests also took part in a challenging NA quiz based on events within the novel. A set of the recently published Jane Austen comic series was awarded to the highest score. June, 2009: JASNA Pittsburgh’s summer tea was held on a sunny summer afternoon at a member's home in Natrona Heights, PA. Members and guests contributed goodies and gathered on a shady porch to discuss Northanger Abbey. We dusted off our horrid novels as we examined the (mis)adventures of Catherine Moreland, Jane Austen's youngest heroine. April 30 to May 3, 2009: Westminster College Theatre staged Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (adapted by Christina Calvit) April 30 through May 3, 2009 at Beeghly Theater. JASNA Pittsburgh’s own Allison Thompson acted as choreographer and historic consultant for the production. If you’d like to view a short "behind-the-scenes" segment with interviews, check out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhAmqOfFbmA March 21, 2009: JASNA members from across Western PA gathered for our annual Spring Meeting and Luncheon at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association in Oakland. Guest speaker and historical re-enactor John G. Ogden, of the First Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, presented America's War of 1812 in the context of the Napoleonic Wars. Private Ogden provided personal and detailed accounts of War of 1812 campaigns, both glorious and disastrous, and how conflicts between Bonaparte's France and Great Britain combined with long-standing grievances between the United States and Great Britain. Since Charles Austen (JA's youngest brother) served on the North American front during this war, this was of special interest to Janeites. February 15, 2009: JASNA Pittsburgh gathered for our annual Winter Tea in the South Hills. Members and guests took turns reading aloud, between bouts of hilarity, from Jane Austen's Juvenilia. If you have not (recently) read Volumes the First, Second and Third, don't overlook these short gems, written during Austen's adolesence. November 30, 2008: We gathered at a member's home to celebrate Jane's 233rd birthday with tea and much merriment. Master Gardener Carol Chernega, JASNA's first international visitor to Chawton House and Library, shared her research on 18th century plants and lead group discussion about flowers and herbs as related to Jane's novels and characters. October 11, 2008: JASNA Pittsburgh gathered for our Autumn luncheon and meeting on Saturday, October 11th at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. Linda Troost, Professor and Chair of English at Washington & Jefferson College, and Sayre Greenfield, Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, presented "The City and the Country in Persuasion on Film." Sayre and Linda, both members of JASNA Pittsburgh, presented at the Jane Austen Society of Australia's 2008 conference in New South Wales. Fall 2008:
Realism in Jane Austen's Fiction LI4248 Class examines print and film versions of Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion as narratives of a social and historical era marked by specific story-telling conventions. As the idea of the novel as entertainment was beginning to unfold in the 18th Century, Jane Austen challenged the notion of the hysterical heroine in search of a rescuer. The personal and environmental forces guiding Austen's pen will be considered. Text to be used is 101 Things You Didn't Know about Jane Austen: The Truth about the World's Most Ingriguing Romantic Literary Heroine. Class participants are asked to read the first 10 chapters of Northanger Abbey for the first class. Teacher is Erika Pertoll, an adjunct faculty member in English at Community College of Allegheny County, and an instructor in literature and writing courses in the Osher Program. August 16, 2008: During the summer of 2008 JASNA Western PA/Pittsburgh personally experienced the historic authenticity of Woodville Plantation's Neville House. Following a docent led tour, participants had the opportunity to take afternoon tea and sample fruits and vegetables from the plantation's heirloom garden. It's easy to imagine yourself in one of Jane's novels as you walk through the beautiful eighteenth century American home known as Neville House. Woodville Plantation , located just 20 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh, is one of only 2,500 National Historic Landmarks in the United States. The window panes of Neville House still bear the signatures of its historic guests and relatives, engraved with the point of a diamond. Photos of the house are available at www.woodvilleplantation.org. July 20, 2008: JASNA Pittsburgh held our Summer Tea on Sunday, July 20. Over tea and goodies, friends gathered to chat about all things Jane and read to the group a beloved passage or quote. Selections included one of Jane's essays as well as excerpts from several of her novels. The guests agreed that is was a pleasant way to pass a rainy summer afternoon. June 7, 2008: JASNA members, friends and guests met at Northland Public Library in the North Hills to view snippets from two versions of Persuasion: the 1995 theatrical film (starring Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds) and the 2007 Masterpiece television release (starring Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones.) Janeites deliberated the pros and cons of adapting Austen's work for media: can any writer/producer/director completely satisfy our very high standards? With dramatically different characterizations and endings, opinions were divided on these two productions. The 1995 film has developed quite a loyal following, but many people questioned the recent release's decision to have Anne make a mad dash through the streets of Bath. Both films are available on DVD if other fans would like to view these productions and draw their own conclusions. April 5, 2008: JASNA Spring Luncheon: We had lively conversation and lunch at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. Dr. Laura Engel, Assistant Professor for the English Department of Duquesne University and a member of JASNA Pittsburgh, presented Much Ado About Muffs: Actresses, Accessories, and Austen. When Jane Austen was a teenager in the late 1780s several portraits of well-known actresses holding muffs were painted by a variety of famous artists including Thomas Gainsborough, Thomas Lawrence, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Laura presented these paintings, along with satiric prints of grotesque muffs that appeared simultaneously in the press, and explore how the muff functions in these images as a sign of fashion and style and as a sign of crass accumulation and overt sexuality. She also examined how this vexed cultural dynamic of female celebrity is reflected in Austen’s depiction of muffs as accessories that dramatize the conflicts inherent in female performance, display, and desire. A big thanks to Dr. Engel for a fantastic presentation! February 17, 2008: JASNA Winter Tea: Members and friends gathered to share sweets, savories and tea. Vigorous discussion about the PBS Complete Jane Austen and other films ensued. What would Jane think of the new Films? We elected officers for 2008. Congratulations to the new officers, and thank you to those who are continuing to perform their duties for another year.
December 16, 2007: Group trip to the Matinee (2:00) performance of Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre's Pride and Prejudice. Group discount to Pittsburgh Chapter members. December 12, 2007: President Carol Chernega presented a pre-performance lecture at PICT's production of Pride and Prejudice. 7:00 pm at the Charity Randall Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland. December 2, 2007: We celebrated Jane Austen's Birthday at our traditional Birthday Tea. JASNA Pittsburgh provided a birthday cake. We played a rousing trivia game related to contemporaries of Jane Austen. Please click here to return to the main News page.
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