Free events in Ithaca, NY

The Department for Performing and Media Arts presents Professional Directions, a pair of free public conversations with industry leaders. No registration is required. One session features John Sloss, founder and CEO of Cinetic and partner at Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo, speaking in person in Room 220, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. He reflects on how he launched his career and shares guidance for those interested in film and television production and distribution. His work spans producing or executive producing more than 80 films, including Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and the Before series, Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book, Errol Morris’s The Fog of War, and Kimberly Peirce’s Boys Don’t Cry. He has also overseen sales for hundreds of influential independent titles such as Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, Precious, and Summer of Soul, and advises entertainment companies on strategy across production, distribution, and marketing. Another session spotlights Emmy winning music editor Craig Pettigrew, who joins virtually on Zoom to discuss his path into the field and what it takes to sustain a career as a working music editor in Hollywood today. His credits include films like Air Force One, Quiz Show, and Fly Away Home, as well as television hits such as True Blood, Hemlock Grove, and Monk. He began as an apprentice music editor at Fox and has worked full time in the craft since 1986. He studied Radio TV Film at Northwestern University and is also a produced and published playwright, as well as a three time cancer survivor.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night meets the pulse of the Roaring Twenties in an adaptation directed by David Feldshuh for Cornell’s Department of Performing and Media Arts, presented in the Kiplinger Theatre at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. A company of twenty-three brings the story to life, with fourteen actors alongside a singing chorus and dancers, and live jazz from professional musician Mike Carbone on saxophone and flute. The journey begins with a shipwreck that leads to Illyria, here imagined as a dreamscape inspired by René Magritte, where identities shift and love takes unpredictable turns. Comedy and music fill this world, yet a surrounding sense of conflict lingers, and pranks can harden into cruelty, creating a vivid blend of brightness and shadow. Built through collaboration between dedicated Cornell students and professional theatre artists, the production engages with a play that has captivated audiences for more than four centuries.

This celebration at Foundation of Light features puja, prasad, and a cultural program with no admission charge. A schedule is available. Meals will be offered on both days, including Bengali cuisine and dishes from across South Asia. Meal tickets are required, with early bird pricing available followed by regular rates. Children under 10 do not need meal tickets. Students who show a valid student ID at the venue front desk can use the discount code STDISCNT during online registration to receive discounts on meal tickets.

A free, casual Disney Lorcana league focused on Core Constructed play. Each round is a best-of-three match. Use a starter deck or build your own with at least 60 cards, no more than two inks, no proxies, and a maximum of four copies of any card with the same full name. Decks may be changed between rounds. Every participant receives a promo card while supplies last, plus there will be a random drawing for a Lorcana pin and additional drawings for promo cards selected by Great Escape Adventures, all while supplies last. Separate competitive events are also available with promos and added prize support. New players can get started easily with a ready-to-play starter deck.