[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Our beloved founder Carol Manoogian created nohoartsdistrict.com in 1997. Nancy and Lisa took over the site in 2005, but Carol remained our webmaster and advisor all these years.
Carol passed away after a long struggle with cancer and it seems only right to mark her passage with gratitude and with love. Along with the sadness of Carol’s passing we feel a huge debt of gratitude to her. We have been blessed to have her in our lives, she shone so brightly in our world and left a legacy of love, wit, brilliance and fierce strength. We will miss her forever. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

None of us know how long we have on this beautiful earth and with our families and friends. Since we have no choice when it comes to the passage of time, let us look forward to 2023 with love and peace for all. With that in mind, we asked each of our contributing writers to say something from their hearts to yours. So We hope you had a have a jolly and safe new year!
Samantha Simmonds- Ronceros – Theatre Editor, Food Writer

Goodbye 2022, hello 2023…letting go of a year that has sped by too quickly for some and yet for others like me, one that in many ways I hoped would never end. Good cheer to all and safe passage into a hopeful New Year full of love and wonderful surprises and incredible adventures!
Jack Witt – Active Journeys with Jack Witt

This year was a cautiously optimistic year for us all to start to get back to some degree of normal after the pandemic. I tried myself to be more realistic, more patient, more giving, and less judging of others. You never know what someone is going through. I hope 2023 brings us all a better understanding of who we are and what we stand for as well as an abundance of happiness and good health.
Mike Peros – Movie Reviews

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of a year for me, though I suspect that many have faced similar situations. Whether it’s suffering from illness (in spite of my best efforts, I got the Covid–if it wants ya, it gets ya), losing a loved one, navigating these complex and troubling times–I guess we’re in the same boat. (I don’t even want to mention thoughts of mortality–oy!!) In spite of everything, I remain resolutely hopeful; it ain’t easy, but I hope we all have some friends and family we can share the good times with (as well as confide in if we’re feeling a bit blue). I like the holiday season because it reminds me to take some time and enjoy what I have, and I hope you too can take the time and not only enjoy the season, but the year to come. A very Happy New Year to you!
Caroline McElroy – LA Music Scene

Here’s to our wonderful readers, I toast each and everyone of you. May 2023 bless us all with lots of love, family and creativity.
Fran Montano – Acting Tips, Acting Exercises and Workshops

Hello actors,
From all of us at the Actors Workout Studio, we want to wish you a Happy New Year! What a time it has been over the past few years. There have been lots of changes for so many people and a lot for myself and the Actors Workout Studio. I am excited to share with you some of the new changes that we’ve made. We have left our previous location on Lankershim Blvd and now have 2 new teaching spaces. I am teaching in-person classes in a beautiful new space in the NoHo Arts District, and have added a second location in West Los Angeles. In addition, I am continuing Zoom classes for those outside of the Los Angeles area. I am thrilled as this gives a much better reach for actors looking to study with me. I am elated about the new actors not only in Los Angeles but from all over the world that I am now able to serve. It has been wonderful to see so many of my students booking work this past year. I look forward to a passionate, creative, and exciting year! I wish you the best, and feel free to contact me for a free audit from wherever you are!
Happy New Year!
Fran Montano
Nancy Bianconi – Publisher

May 2023 be the year that animal lab experimentation and all animal abuse and cruelty ends – Go Vegan/Vegetarian!!
Lisa Bianconi – Editor

Our beloved Carol will be sorely missed but I am so glad I got to be her friend. In 2006, I deleted the entire theatre guide. She swooped in and fixed everything all the while laughing and calling me The Terminator. She had a light about her that made you feel happy, safe and loved. This is what I want to do more of in 2023 – make people feel happy, safe and loved. To honor her genuine and helpful spirit, we’ve created a special Carol Scholarship for our new dancer program with L.A. Cultural Exchange.
May your memory be a blessing, my dear friend. XO The Terminator.
Javier Ronceros – Actor & Director in LA

Happy New Year 2023
What a beginning to the 2020’s We have all been tested in many ways and we have overcome. Let’s hope we are smarter, kinder, more understanding, compassionate, and grateful. As a great man once sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” —John Lennon
Raleigh Barrett – LA Art Scene

As 2023 arrives at our doorstep, many around the world will be making resolutions for the New Year, or, if more cynical about resolutions, at a minimum reflecting on the year gone by. In our modern life we have technology mitigating the natural, and science removing divine mysteries within this life. Northrop Frye speaks, “Nature is inside art as its content, not outside as its model.” Life does not imitate art, but intrinsically includes art as a component of itself. I believe this includes the disenchanting tools of technology and science, as these too are artful at their core. I’m heartened by those who still gravitate towards the spiritual, the ephemeral, and the intangible beauties this life has to hold. The wonders which cannot be informed by anything other than ourselves and our communities. This life is short, and no matter the approach, this life (this art) is brilliant.
We hope you 2023 is filled with happiness, adventures, love, art and many movie moments.