Growth Through Writing
Andrew Visconti, who was born in Milan but arrived in East Hampton in 1990, has had a long and varied career as a journalist whose stories were syndicated in 20 regional newspapers throughout Italy. He began covering presidential elections in 1992, and his interview subjects ranged from Ruth Westheimer to a murder suspect on Rikers Island.
In 2018, as the media landscape shifted, he redirected his focus to creative writing and launched a memoir-writing program at the East Hampton Library. Whether it was his experience at Rikers Island or not, for the past three years he has led weekly writing workshops at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank.
Mr. Visconti is the next guest in The Church’s Knowledge Friday series on Friday at 6 p.m., when he will talk about the experience he has gained working with inmates, for whom storytelling can foster personal growth and process trauma. He has said, “Memoir writing in jail is like group therapy without a therapist in the room.”
Tickets are $10, free for members who R.S.V.P.
Bay Street Standup
Joseph Vecsey’s All Star Comedy will return to Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater on Saturday at 8 p.m. with three stand-up veterans, Phil Hunt, Chris Clarke, and Dante Nero.
Recently featured on BET’s “On the Ropes,” Mr. Hunt has performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and in 2021 was selected as a semifinalist for the American Black Film Festival Comedy Competition in Los Angeles.
Mr. Clarke now tours the country with Rob Schneider of “Saturday Night Live” fame. He has a popular YouTube channel on which, known as C-Snacks, he tastes food from the front seat of his car. The show has attracted over 40 million views.
A trained martial artist, Mr. Nero dabbled in various fields before turning to comedy. He has worked with Tracy Morgan and Mike Epps, co-hosted “The Black Phillip Show” on SiriusXM Radio, and appeared on Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show”
Tickets are $44 to $56.
Easter Concert
The spring concert of the Montauk Chamber Orchestra will bring music ranging from Bach to Ennio Morricone to St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon at 3. The orchestra features an ensemble of musicians from the East End to Manhattan who are dedicated to bringing beautiful music to Montauk.
The program will include Ennio Morricone Vivaldi’s “Spring” from “The Four Seasons,” Mascagni’s Intermezzo from “Cavalleria Rusticana,” Morricone’s “Love Theme” from the film “Cinema Paradiso,” Grieg’s “Last Spring,” Debussy’s “Beau Soir,” and Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D minor.
Winter Garden Damage
The next round-table discussion of the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, “Garden CPR! How to Repair Winter Damage,” will happen on Saturday morning at 10 at the Bridgehampton Community House.
Jackson Dodds, a Southampton arborist and landscaper, will show photographs he has taken of damage he has seen this season on the properties he maintains. He will also explain some of the methods he uses to ameliorate that damage.
Among the topics to be discussed are proper pruning of broken branches; dealing with winter burn, desiccation, cracks from freezing or thawing, and salt damage on evergreen leaves; removing invasive winter weeds, and damage to woody shrubs and trees from wildlife.
The round-table talks are free to all.
