44 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • AUGUST 10, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
John Turturro is coming to Long Island City to screen
his Queens-based fi lm “Romance & Cigarettes”
This Astoria performance space wants
to help you start your own podcast
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Podcasting has exploded in popularity
in recent years with the introduction of
popular programs such as “Serial,” which
unpacks a new crime story every season.
Now, one Astoria performance space
is providing aspiring podcasters with a
space and equipment to work on their
own podcasts.
Q.E.D., located at 27-16 23rd Ave.,
recently opened Q.E.D Studios for those
interested in recording a podcast or voiceover
work. Th e studio off ers four microphones,
audio equipment and the ability
to use Pro Tools. Th e studio also provides
a technician to record and mix episodes
for those who are not familiar with
the technology.
Chris Gersbeck, the public relations and
marketing manager for Q.E.D., said the
event space wanted to provide its community
with a more aff ordable option to record
podcasts and also encourage people who
were interested in the medium but didn’t
know how to get started with an outlet.
“We have a lot of diff erent types of programming,”
Gersbeck said. “A lot of it
is comedy related and a lot of comedians
right now have podcasts. We had this
space in the basement so it just seemed
like a good time to kind of provide an
aff ordable space for the community.”
Gersbeck helped build the studio,
which took a few months and offi cially
opened in July. Th ough other venues like
Th e Creek and the Cave in Long Island
City and Comedy Cellar in Manhattan
have podcast studios, their mostly used
to create content for the clubs themselves.
Q.E.D. Studios is affordable for
up-and-coming comedians and is also
used by fi lmmakers to record narration or
voice over work.
“Th e response has been great,” Gersbeck
said. “We’ve gotten a lot of people who
don’t have a podcast yet and have been
waiting for something like this to happen
and people who want to start a podcast
and they don’t quite know how. Th at’s
been kind of exciting.”
He also added that its one of the only
studios in the city with podcasting in
mind. Th e interface allows people to
adjust the audio levels of each microphone
in post-production, which makes
for a better sound.
Q.E.D. is off ering classes for those interested
in learning about the medium. On
Aug. 19 at noon, “Intro to Podcasting”
will cover the basics like coming up
with the idea for your show, equipment,
recording tips and more.
On Aug. 26, the “Podcast Promotion”
class will teach beginners how to fi nd an
audience and promote your podcast.
Gersbeck will teach the classes along
with Colin Fitzgerald. Th e duo has their
own pop culture podcast, “Overkill (with
Chris and Colin),” where they ask people
to share what tv show, movie, album
or other aspect of pop-culture they are
obsessed with.
Th ough the studio its in its early stages,
Gersbeck said Q.E.D. hopes “to be a space
where comedians want to come and hang
out and record their episodes.”
Th e base rate is $30 per hour and people
can also purchase session packages. A
dedicated technician costs an additional
$20 per session.
Photo courtesy of Flickr/Q.E.D.
Q.E.D. Studios in Astoria allows people to record their own podcasts.
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @
AngelaMatua
Actor John Turturro is
visiting Socrates Sculpture
Park in Long Island City
this month for a screening
of his 2005 fi lm “Romance
& Cigarettes.”
Th e screening is part
of the park’s “Outdoor
Cinema” festival, which
includes eight weeks of
movies from July through
August from an array of
countries. Each movie is
accompanied by a musical
performance by artists from
each respective country.
On Aug. 16, Pat Irwin
and J. Walter Hawkes will
perform experimental rock
music to open the screening
at 7 p.m. and Astoriabased
restaurant East Coast
Foodies will provide classic
American comfort food.
Th e 2005 musical, directed
by Turturro, stars the
late James Gandolfini,
Astoria native Christopher
Walken, Kate Winslet and
Susan Sarandon.
Gandolfini’s character
Nick, who is married to
Sarandon’s character Kitty,
is caught cheating and must
choose between his wife and
mistress. Th e fi lm features
cameos by Mary-Louise
Parker, Aida Turturro,
Bobby Cannavale, Eddie
Izzard and Elaine Stritch.
Th e screening is free and
will take place at 32-01
Vernon Blvd.
Outdoor Cinema will end
on Aug. 23 with a screening
of “Pelo Malo” (Bad Hair),
which follows 9-year-old
Junior who lives in Caracas,
Venezuela as he tries to
tame his curly hair for picture
day at school. Cachapas
y Mas will be serving traditional
Venezuelan food
before the screening.
Photo courtesy of Socrates Sculpture Park
John Turturro will visit Long Island City to screen his fi lm.