Ahmed Kouddous ‘09 has joined the cast of “The Mysteries” at the Flea Theatre in New York, New York. According to a review by the online publication Theater Pizzazz!, the production, which centers on the Bible and was created and directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, “sweeps away the mustiness and hype and makes the Bible not only exciting, but sensual and contemporary. These 54 actors and 48 playwrights have fashioned an epic in the same league as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Nicholas Nickleby and the Steppenwolf’s Grapes of Wrath. The wisdom of the playwrights and the vivacity and dedication of this huge cast of very hardworking actors take the audience on this totally involving magic carpet ride. This panoply of well-worn, cliché-ridden mythology becomes a totally involving drama in the hands of this troupe.”

Read more from the Theater Pizzazz review.

Megan McDonough ’99 wrote recently with the exciting news that she had accepted the position of Executive Director at Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.  In a press release about the appointment, the organization noted that “Ms. McDonough has been working for Habitat for over a year and has demonstrated skilled leadership and vision since the previous director left in April.”

In an email, Ms. McDonough noted that the Williston Northampton School has a long history of working with Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

” Volunteers under the leadership of Stan Samuelson have been coming to the site regularly for years,”  she wrote.  “We are also starting construction this summer at a site in Easthampton.  We are sad that Mr. Samuelson is retiring – but look forward to partnering with the school and other teachers.”

According to the organization, Ms. McDonough holds a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from UMass Amherst and has previous experience at Center for EcoTechnology and the Franklin County affordable housing non-profit the Valley Community Land Trust.

Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity serves Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The organization builds homes with volunteer labor and donations of material, supplies, land, and services in order to eliminate homelessness and substandard housing by making decent affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action for all people. After the home is built, PVHH sells each home with a no-interest mortgage to a low-income family.  Since 1989, nearly three dozen families have become homeowners in the valley through Habitat’s work.

Carl Shubs ’66 notes that he was “honored and excited to have one of my photos selected to be in the annual benefit auction for the Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA).”  According to the LAAA website, the auction attracts “hundreds of LA’s most influential movers and shakers will attend the exclusive champagne VIP preview… The live auction will be presented by Bonhams. Founded in 1793, Bonhams is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.”

The annual benefit features both “one of the most compelling pools of emerging talent, as well as pieces by established artists,” according to the association. Proceeds from the benefit go towards the LAAA and the artist community in Los Angeles.

“The Indy 500 is easily the most impressive tradition I have ever experienced,” Spencer May ’09 writes in a new blog post, “A First-Timer’s Take on the Indy 500,” for Missy Farren & Associates, Ltd. In the post, Mr. May describes his adventures on Race Day: from the pre-dawn departure with a police escort, to touring the garages, to visiting pit alley and watching a pit stop.  “Standing 6 feet from the wall the smell of seared rubber filled my nose,” Mr. May writes, adding that the day ended happily, with an American win and Mr. May heading back to his hotel via a second police escort.

“It took a few hours for the adrenaline to wear off and the fatigue to set in,” he writes. “But I slept with a smile after watching the most spectacular race ever.”