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Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter

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July 18 - August 7, 2019

The Mettawee River Theatre Company has announced that this will be their last year touring - go see their performance The Ringdove on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn this Sunday at 8pm (one show only!), presented by Ko Festival of Performance. More info in the listings below.

Next Saturday at the Shea: 413 Says #CloseTheCamps: 24 Hour Performance Fundraiser - please come! And if you can't come, you can buy a ticket at any level to make a donation to RAICES Action Network, Immigrant Families Together and the Pioneer Valley Workers Center.

The PVTN Google Calendar is available through that link - if you want to add your events, send me an email and I'll give you permission.

The next issue will include events through August 14. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com

Submit Your Theatre Event

Real Live Theatre's Choreographing Intimacy Workshop
August 17 - Register Here

Mary Poppins at Exit 7 Players | July 26-August 4
Tickets and More Information

YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.

THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:

from Howlround
The Basics of Theatre Criticism
by Danielle Rosvally

From the article:

As a field, theatre criticism finds itself at a pivotal juncture. With the continued trend of print media moving towards skeletal arts criticism, much of the field has migrated to online platforms: blogs of varying types (from organizational to personal), Facebook, Yelp, Google, even Twitter.

Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com

Want to know even more about events in the Pioneer Valley and beyond,
including reviews, interviews, and previews?
Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar
In the Spotlight, Inc.
Berkshire on Stage
Stagestruck
ArtsBeat Radio and News Colum n

Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet

PERFORMANCES

Chester Theater Co. and Eggtooth Productions
Present
A new immersive theater experience created by John Bechtold

Gem of the Valley
July 18 at 3 PM, 19 at 6 PM, and 20 at 3 and 6 PM

Gem of the Valley is a headphones-based immersive theater piece that puts you on a walk through the town of Chester, en route to CTC stage. Designed for small groups of no more than six people at a time, you are set on an hour-long adventure that blurs the borders between theater, dream, and real life.

With a storied town as a central character, Gem is a tribute to Chester and its home-grown theater that celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer. The show is directed by John Bechtold, whose previous immersive works around the Valley include Sam's Place, Deus Ex Machina, Before You Became Improbable and The Winter's Tale.

How Do I Purchase Tickets?
Tickets should be purchased directly from Chester Theatre Company.

Hampshire Shakespeare Company is pleased to present The *Annotated* Taming as a part of our 30th season of Shakespeare Under the Stars!

The *Annotated* Taming:
Or, Out of the Saddle, Into the Dirt
From Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew

Adapted & Directed by Toby Vera Bercovici
with music & lyrics by Old Flame

July 18-21 & 24-28
7 p.m.
Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies

Ticket Prices:
Adult: $15 | Student/Senior: $10 | Child: $7

For more info & tickets visit www.hampshireshakespeare.com
https://hsctaming.bpt.me/

Strange worlds. Fantastical adventures. Mythic visions. Who is Baron Von Munchausen? Hero? Liar? Buffoon? Double Edge’s upcoming Spectacle is an ode to joy and a journey of the imagination indoors, outdoors, to the stars and back.

"Reality? Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I’m delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever," says Baron Munchausen.

I am the Baron is created by the DE Ensemble and directed by Matthew Glassman & Jeremy Louise Eaton.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY

July 19 - August 18

PaintBox Theatre presents EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A PIRATE
Williston Theater
18 Payson Avenue
Easthampton, MA
July 20, Saturday, 10:30 & 1:00
July 21, Sunday, 10:30 & 1:00
Aug 7, Wednesday, 10:30 & 1:00

They areeeeeeee back with more jokes, more treasure, and more shenanigINs-and-OUTs. Kelsey Flynn, Troy Mercier, Myka Plunkett, and (out on his maiden voyage with PaintBox) Gerrin Mitchell will be holding strong this summer on deck with all new jokes. You're always welcome to join the crew for the third installment of the saga that is PaintBox PIRATES !!!

PIRATES TICKETS
Tickets are also available at the box office on the day of the show(s). Parking available in the rear lot.

“WHAT WE SEE” THEATER WORKS AT 33 HAWLEY STREET AND SCDT

What We See
A.P.E. @ Hawley is launching "What We See", a month long project of five theater works in development at 33 Hawley Street and SCDT from July 7 – August 4, 2019.. “What We See” is designed to provide support for the evolving work of these five artists and artist groups. Each project will be provided a week of time and space in the flexible performance space at 33 Hawley St. and at SCDT, and will culminate in public showings at the end of each week. Each project was selected because of its unique vision- use of spoken language and movement, use of other mediums, choice of performers and audiences they hope to reach. “What We See” will assist each project deepen their investigations of what makes theater.

July 14-21:
Long Bright Day is Karinne Keithley’s new play about political avatars and human community. A great leader decides to quit making pro-forma public statements so she can commune with an immensity on a boat by her lake house and rule her country in peace. A small community of political exiles wait and wait for their work to produce change. Everyone's done saying things the way they always said them. Everyone's watching the television. If they had bigger imaginations, they could say more. Or at least so says a chorus of cats out in the interplanetary light.
Community Playwriting Workshop
Mon-Fri July 15-19: 9:30am-12 noon, pay-what-you-will
Public showing of work in progress: Saturday 20th 7pm: By donation.

Happier Valley Comedy presents The Happier Family Comedy Show
July 20 at 3:00 PM
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (125 W Bay Rd., Amherst)

Monthly family-friendly improv comedy show, great for 5-13 year olds and their adults. It's funny for the whole family! Saturday, July 20th at 3pm at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (125 W Bay Rd., Amherst). Tickets at the door: $10/Adults, $5/Kids, Free/4 yrs and under (Reduced admission for museum members).
For more info: www.happiervalley.com.

Happier Valley Comedy presents Not In Charge
July 20 at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA

Join the talented group Not In Charge for a polished, fast-paced improv show inspired by true stories from the cast and audience! Saturday, July 20th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door.
For more info: www.happiervalley.com.

Ko Festival of Performance Story Slam
Saturday, July 20 at 8:00 PM
Holden Theater, Amherst College

Since 2011, Ko Festival of Performance has hosted story slams: a fast-paced evening of true stories. This year’s “Habitat” themed story slam can be seen for one night only on Saturday, July 20 in the Holden Theater at Amherst College. For reservations please go to kofest.com, call (413) 542-3750, or email  kofestboxoffice@gmail.com.

Ko Festival Artistic Director, Sabrina Hamilton says, "each summer the Ko Festival is curated on a theme that we think is timely and of compelling interest to people in the Pioneer Valley. The festival becomes a kind of five-week think tank, each week we present a different show that offers a different and entertaining lens on the theme.  Most of the Ko Festival artists come from across the country, but we like to get more local participation into the mix and thus, most of the Story Slam storytellers are local. The Slam is a chance to hear stories from our neighbors about their own experiences as they relate to the theme."

Stories must be true, first person (though they need not be about the storyteller, there does need to be some first-hand involvement or witnessing). and related to Ko’s season theme of “HABITAT.” Hamilton says “This year we’re interested in stories that have to do with human habitats – particularly changes in human habitats. For example, we might have a story that looks back at where someone grew up, or about move to a new locale or culture. It could be a story about you, or a story about someone or something you’ve personally observed, but somehow it must have that first-person element. There’s lots of room for lots of kinds of stories., but all stories must be 5 minutes or under and told without notes. A gentle warning tone is sounded at four minutes and a far louder chime at the cut-off point. Hamilton says laughingly, "storytellers are allowed to finish the sentence they’re in the middle of — but no run-on sentences!”  There are 3 sets of 5 storytellers.

Many of the performers will be telling stories that they have worked on in the 6-day “FIRST PERSON: Crafting Your Story for Performance” workshop that Ko offers each summer. The sold-out class is taught by Jerry Stropnicky, a multi-faceted theatre artist (director, writer and actor) who has traveled widely, creating original large-scale, site-specific performances in communities facing trauma, crisis, transition, or change. For this work, as well as for his role in co-founding the national Network of Ensemble Theaters, Jerry was honored as a United States Artists Fellow in 2010. More information about Stropnicky available at kofest.com

Others who are interested in pitching a story can email info@kofest.com with their contact information (including a phone number), a brief bio, and a description of the story they’d like to tell.  Most of the roster of storytellers will be set before the event, but Ko also saves at least one “wildcard” slot to be given away before the last set. If there are more people interested in these slots than there is space for on the roster - prospective storytellers audition their first lines and then the audience decide which story they’d like to hear in its entirety. In fact, the Grand Prize winner of Ko’s very first Story Slam, the “Secrets” one, Amherst resident Anne Burton, was so inspired by the stories she has heard that she found the courage to tell her own hysterically funny of her experience of moving from a desk job to a floor job at the Playboy Bunny Club in NYC.

Each audience member is given a ballot on the way into the Holden Theater, and they vote for winners in 3 categories: Most Poignant or Moving, Most Humorous, and Best Storytelling Skills. The person getting the most overall votes wins the Grand Prize. There are festive refreshments and prizes. Hamilton adds, “the story slam is immensely popular. It usually sells out - probably because we are blessed to live in an area rich with story and full of talented raconteurs. The event is also our annual fundraiser that is part of the funding package that allows Ko to bring a 28th season of exciting work to the Valley. So at the end of the evening - we feel that everyone is a winner."

The Ko Festival of Performance Story Slam will be held one night only: Saturday, July 20 at 8:00 PM. KoFest performances take place in Amherst College’s Holden Theater, located behind the Admissions Office off South Pleasant Street in Amherst, MA. Tickets are priced at: $16 General and $10 for SNAP/EBT cardholders. Tickets are available online at kofest.com, by email at kofestboxoffice@gmail.com  and by phone at (413) 542-3750. The box office phone line is staffed daily from 1-5 and 1 to curtain on performance days.

Arena Civic Theatre Presents The Belle of Amherst: A staged reading
Saturday, July 20th at 7:00pm and Sunday, July 21st at 2:30pm.

ACT Presents The Belle of Amherst: Directed by Russ Ekstrom and performed by Louise Krieger, this event marks Arena Civic Theatre’s return to the roundhouse at the Franklin County Fairgrounds and is being done as a preview of the full production which will be part of our 50th Anniversary season in 2020.

THE STORY: In her Amherst, Massachusetts home, the reclusive nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson recollects her past through her work, her diaries and letters, and a few encounters with significant people in her life. William Luce’s classic play shows us both the pain and the joy of Dickinson’s secluded life.

A $10 donation will be requested for each performance.

Ko Festival of Performance presents Mettawee River Theater Company's The Ringdove
Sunday, July 21 at 8:00 PM
Amherst College Observatory Lawn. The backup rain space is Amherst’s Holden Theater.

This year, Ko Festival of Performance will present a special outdoor family friendly show for one night only. The Mettawee River Theatre Company has spent two years preparing a new version of “The Ringdove,” which they first performed in 1988. An allegorical tale about friendship, it is drawn from The Panchatantra, a collection of stories whose origins reach back over 2,000 years, to ancient India.

The central characters of “The Ringdove” are a crow, a rat, a turtle and a gazelle, whose behavior and relationships reflect many aspects of human nature. The production tells the story of the creatures’ growth in friendship with each other, as they achieve strength and harmony through cooperation and understanding.

The production will incorporate an array of giant figures, puppets, and masks and will be performed out under the stars in a landscape permeated with live music, song and a spirit of celebration. Bring blankets, lawn chairs and insect repellent, but leave the dogs at home.

The Mettawee River Theatre Company, founded in 1975, creates original theater productions which incorporate masks, giant figures, puppets and other visual elements with live music, movement and text, drawing on myths, legends and folklore of the world’s many cultures for its material. The company is committed to bringing theater to people who have little or no access to live professional theater. Each year Mettawee presents outdoor performances in rural communities of upstate New York and New England as well as performing in the New York City area. For more information visit mettawee.org

There will be one performance only, on Sunday, July 21 at 8:00 PM. The performance will be held on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off of Snell Street in Amherst. Rain Space: Amherst College’s Holden Theater. Tickets are $9 Adults / $7 Children (12 & under). Cash or check only. No credit cards at the door. Tickets and further information on the savings that come with the KoFest “Passes & Posses” program are also available at kofest.com or by calling the box office at (413) 542-3750.

MAJESTIC THEATER SUMMER CHILDREN’S THEATER SCHEDULE:
ALL TICKETS: $9.50 each ($9.00 each if all three shows are purchased at the same time)

CHARLOTTE'S WEB
Monday, July 22 - 10am, 1pm & 6:30pm
Tuesday, July 23 - 10am, 1pm
Wednesday, July 24 - 10am, 1pm

Sunday August 11 - 1pm & 4pm
Monday, August 12 - 10am, 1pm & 6:30pm
Tuesday, August 13 - 10am, 1pm
Wednesday, August 14 - 10am, 1pm

DISNEY MULAN JR.
Sunday July 28 - 1pm & 4pm
Monday, Juy 29 - 10am, 1pm & 6:30pm
Tuesday, July 30 - 10am, 1pm
Wednesday, July 31 - 10am, 1pm

DR. SEUSS'S THE CAT IN THE HAT
Sunday August 4 - 1pm & 4pm
Monday, August 5 - 10am, 1pm & 6:30pm
Tuesday, August 6 - 10am, 1pm
Wednesday, August 7 - 10am, 1pm

IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY WITH THE MAJESTERS SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, July 24 - 7:30pm - $9
Wednesday, July 31 - 7:30pm - $9
Wednesday, August 7 - 7:30pm - $9
Wednesday, August 14 - 7:30pm - $9

Returning on Wednesday nights will be Improvisational Comedy with The Majesters, which features a troupe of the best improv comics from across the Pioneer Valley and beyond for an evening of unscripted comic mayhem. The program begins with improv scenes similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway," and is followed by a storyline that's developed with help from the audience. Improvisational Comedy with The Majesters takes place Wednesday nights at 7:30pm July 10-August 14. Tickets are $9 and are available at the door the night of each show.

Ko Festival of Performance presents (dis)Place[d]
July 26, 27 at 8:00 PM and July 28 at 4:00 PM
Holden Theater, Amherst College

Written and performed by DEBÓRAH ELIEZER
Directed by BEN YALOM
Video Design: KEDAR LAWRENCE
Lighting Design: SABRINA HAMILTON

In (dis)Place[d], foolsFURY Co-Artistic Director Debórah Eliezer cracks open the assumptions of her own identity through the story of her father, Edward Ben-Eliezer, an Iraqi Jew born in 1930, a member of the Zionist underground, refugee, Israeli spy, and immigrant to America.

Eliezer brings twenty years’ experience as an acclaimed physical performer to create a dozen different characters, including her father at three different ages, her great grandmother, their Iraqi neighbors, an ethereal embodiment of the Tigris Euphrates valley itself, refugees, immigrants, and more.

First generation immigrants have often hidden the stories of their past, sometimes to keep painful memories from their children, sometimes to enthusiastically embrace their new countries. The children are caught between cultures, with no way of acknowledging a multi-national, multi-ethnic identity. It was not until Eliezer’s father had begun his descent into dementia that she began to glimpse his past.

“We kept cyanide in our socks,” he said out of the blue one day. And she learned that her peace-loving father had been a spy for the Israeli Defense Forces. Other stories trickled out:

as a child he hid for days on a rooftop as Baghdadi Jews were slaughtered during the Farhoud, a Nazi-inspired “pogrom”;
at 11 he joined the Zionist underground, smuggling weapons;
at 19 he was targeted for assassination, fled Baghdad, crossed the desert on foot, and lived in a refugee camp on the Iraq/Iran border for two years;
he managed to bring 8 of his 9 siblings to Israel, unable to save the eldest, who stayed behind and was killed.

Bit by bit Debórah uncovered her roots, and the remarkable history of the Iraqi Jewish Diaspora. Remarkable because Jews had been deeply integrated into Iraqi life for over 2500 years, and made up a third of Baghdad’s population in 1940. And because, within a decade, all 130,000 were gone, expelled, escaped, or killed. Today fewer than 10 Jews remain in Iraq.

(DIS)PLACE[D] follows her exploration of these stories, and asks hard questions: Who has the right to tell the story of a people? What is the significance of borders versus land and culture? What is the relationship of nationality to identity? The work aims to open a space for community dialogue around these issues in general, and specifically within the diaspora of Mizrahi Jews. Through this journey, the artist also finds a missing part of herself, “a song sung in a language I can’t understand” as she puts it. “A dream I can’t remember.”

“Luminous…So beautifully written, performed and directed that you might wish it were longer.” (SF Examiner)

Tickets available online
kofestboxoffice@gmail.com
(413) 542-3750

New Century Theatre presents A WALK IN THE WOODS by Lee Blessing
Directed by Sam Rush
The West End at Eastworks
116 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, MA 01027

July 26 - August 4
Showtimes:
Friday, Saturday - 7:30 PM
Sunday matinee - 2:00 PM
Sunday evening - 7:30 PM

Beginning July 26th we'll present A WALK IN THE WOODS by Lee Blessing at The West End space located in Easthampton's Eastworks building. Directed by Sam Rush, this comedy/drama is set in the early 80's toward the end of the Cold War. A newly assigned American diplomat tries desperately to negotiate a nuclear arms treaty with her more experienced Soviet counterpart. As the talks stall and tensions mount the two decide to take a stroll in a mountain glen in Switzerland, away from the negotiating table, and the prying eyes of the press corps.
Eastworks at 116 Pleasant Street in Easthampton is surrounded by a wealth of great dining establishments and pubs all just a short distance from the West End Performance space.

TICKET INFORMATION:
General Seating:
$32, $30 for Seniors (65+)
$15 Student Rush

BUY ONLINE: newcenturytheatre.org
Information & Questions:
info@newcenturytheatre.org
413-587-3933

A reading of off-Broadway play Occupied Territories at the Flex Space at 33 Hawley Street.
Local veterans to highlight intergenerational impact from wartime service.

Public Readings: July 26 & 27 – 7:00 P.M. Free
Workshop: July 27, 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. In connection with Occupied Territories, a writing workshop, led by acclaimed Vietnam Veteran and prize-winning author, Preston Hood of Colrain, Mass., will take place Saturday, July 27, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Flex Space. People interested in joining the workshop should send an email to mamaxner@gmail.com.

Occupied Territories is part of “What We See”, four weeks of theater projects presented by A.P.E. @Hawley.
Supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of Western MA and the Northampton Arts Council.

NORTHAMPTON, MA – Several community partners in western Massachusetts will present a staged reading of the play,Occupied Territories, at the Flex Space at 33 Hawley Street on July 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. The readings are free to the public and are followed by a post-reading discussion.

Following its sold out off-Broadway run in 2017, Occupied Territories will be coming to Northampton for a special engagement reading that brings together actors from the New York City production and local veterans. Occupied Territories tells the story of an adult daughter coming to terms with her father’s experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Inspired by the true story of a Massachusetts Vietnam veteran and the impact of his war experience on his life and on his family, the play’s themes of love and loss resonate with audiences. As one man said after seeing the play: “It is a love story: within a family and between soldiers.”

The reading is part of a project started by the creators of Occupied Territories, where the writers, director, and actors connect with local veterans to work on the play together for a week.

“It is a powerful and moving experience to hear Vietnam veterans reading for 19-year-old characters in the jungles of Vietnam,” said co-writer/director Mollye Maxner. Occupied Territories delves into the intergenerational impacts of war on families, and it serves to support increased conversation between soldiers and civilians, and between veterans and their families.

Maxner is a native of Northampton currently on faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. Her father, Steve Maxner, served in Vietnam and received care at the inpatient PTSD unit at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Leeds. Bringing her family’s story to Northampton is in many ways an act of bringing the play “home.”

This summer’s reading is a first step in bringing a fully staged production of Occupied Territories to Northampton in 2020.

Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services, the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Department of the American Gold Star Mothers, the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, and the Human Service Forum have worked together to bring the readings to Northampton and are key community partners assisting the Occupied Territories production team.

For more information on Occupied Territories visit www.occupiedterritories.org

Mary Poppins: Exit 7 Youth Players

July 26 - August 4, 2019
7/26 and 8/2 at 8pm; 7/27, 7/28, 8/3, and 8/4 at 2pm
Exit 7 Theater, 37 Chestnut Street, Ludlow, MA 01056

One of the most popular Disney movies of all time is capturing hearts in a whole new way: as a practically perfect musical!

The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren't the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that "Anything can happen if you let it."

Mary Poppins is an enchanting mixture of irresistible story, unforgettable songs, breathtaking dance numbers and astonishing stagecraft. This show is a perfect opportunity to showcase a strong, iconic female performer, as well as unique special effects and illusions.

Tickets On Sale Now!
exit7players.org

High Note presents DINNER THEATER AT BREWMASTER'S TAVEN 7/26
July 26 at 7:00 PM
Brewmaster's Tavern - WILLIAMSBURG MA

Dinner- Theater - Cabaret - Starring LeCABARET - Friday July 26th - Dinner @ 7 - show to follow
For reservation and info : call 413 268 7741

413 Says #CloseTheCamps: 24 Hour Fundraiser
Saturday, July 27 at 8:00 AM through Sunday, July 28 at 8:00 AM
Shea Theater Arts Center
71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, Massachusetts 01376

Artists in the 413 have come together to present 24 hours of performance including music, theater, dance, and children’s programming at the Shea Theater Arts Center on Saturday, July 27th at 8am to Sunday July, 28th at 8am.

We pledge to use our art as a united act of resistance and solidarity. Artists and staff are donating their time and talents so all proceeds can benefit asylum seekers and families in the current border crisis. Donations raised by this event will be sent to RAICES, Immigrant Families Together, and Pioneer Valley Workers Center, organizations working to #CloseTheCamps.

The 413 may be far away from the Mexico/U.S. border geographically, but we members of the Pioneer Valley arts community recognize the need for local action.

The line-up will be announced soon - check the Facebook page for details. Tickets will be priced from $10-$1,000 pay what you can. Please remember this is a fundraiser and purchase your ticket at the donation level you can. No one will be turned away.

This event is presented by TheatreTruck.
----------------------------------------------------------------
GET YOUR TICKETS/MAKE YOUR DONATION:
https://www.showclix.com/event/closethecamps

*If you cannot attend you can still make a donation through this link*

Julian Olf Memorial Service

Everyone is welcome to a memorial service celebrating the life of Julian Olf, who passed way this past winter. The memorial service will take place on Saturday, July 27 at 10:00 a.m. in Bezanson Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Center, with a reception immediately following in the FAC Atrium.

Announced on behalf of Julian Olf's family.

Tributes to Professor Olf from former students and colleagues during his time with UMass Theater.

Happier Valley Comedy presents The Happier Valley Championship
July 27 at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA

In this competitive comedy show, two teams of improvisers face off through scenes and games to see who can win the ultimate prize: an old trophy we found in someone's attic. Saturday, July 27th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door.
For more info: www.happiervalley.com.

Ko Festival of Performance presents Lessons of Humanity
August 2, 3 at 8:00 PM, August 4 at 4:00 PM
Holden Theater, Amherst College

“Lessons of Humanity” uses a rich a blend of Samite’s traditional African music and personal stories that draw on his own experience of war and genocide in Idi Amin’s Uganda, and his life as a refugee who finds his new home in rural upstate New York to be a place from which he can reach out globally to help remind others of their strength, so that they may find peace. This newly created performance presents a more intimate look at the forces and experiences that have shaped this extraordinary artist and global citizen. Ko Festival of Performance Artistic Director Sabrina Hamilton will design the lighting.

Samite will also perform at the 6^th annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival on August 10^th. “Lessons of Humanity” provides a chance to get to know more about this world-renowned performer and founder of Musicians for World Harmony, an organization dedicated to enabling musicians throughout the world to share their music to promote peace, understanding, and harmony among people.

Ko Festival of Performance has formed a community partnership with The Karuna Center for Peacebuilding to build upon this season’s theme. Their season-long lobby display addressing the habitat theme has an interactive component about “Standing Up for Peace,” which will stand alongside Samite’s extraordinary photographs. KoFest performances are each followed by a discussion, giving the audience an opportunity to engage the performers and creators in a civic dialogue surrounding the season’s theme. Friday night’s post show discussion will include the Karuna Center’s Director of Programs Ginny Morrison, who has consulted with Amnesty International; Public Conversations Project; and a range of universities, prison systems and US health care systems. As a founding member of Mediators Beyond Borders, she has co-led efforts to incorporate trauma-informed practice into all of MBB’s programming.

The world-renowned musician Samite was born and raised in Uganda, where his grandfather taught him to play the traditional flute. When he was twelve, a music teacher placed a western flute in his hands setting him on his way to becoming one of East Africa’s most acclaimed flutists. He performed frequently to enthusiastic audiences throughout Uganda until 1982, when he was forced to flee to Kenya as a political refugee. Samite immigrated to the United States in 1987, and now he and his wife Sandra make their home on their small horse farm in upstate New York. Today his smooth vocals accompanied by the kalimba, marimba, litungu, and various flutes mesmerize audiences throughout the world. For more information on Samite, please visit http://www.samite.com/

Performances are Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3 at 8:00 PM, Sunday, August 4 at 4:00 PM. KoFest performances take place in Amherst College’s Holden Theater, located behind the Admissions Office off South Pleasant Street in Amherst, MA. Tickets are $22 Adults / $18 Students & Seniors and $10 for SNAP/EBT cardholders. Tickets are available online at kofest.com, by email at kofestboxoffice@gmail.com and by phone at (413) 542-3750. The box office phone line is staffed daily from 1-5 and 1 to curtain on performance days. Call about a limited number of $8 tickets.

More information about the artists can be found at kofest.com.

PaintBox Theatre presents HOW DO DINOSAURS GO TO SCHOOL?
Williston Theater
18 Payson Avenue
Easthampton, MA

Beloved Author Jane Yolen asks "How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?" in her beloved children's book. We've tasked ourselves to try and answer that very question. PaintBox takes this 'tail' and twists it PaintBox style. Callum LaFrance tackles this feat, short arms, long neck, and all!

Aug 3, Saturday, 10:30 & 1:00
Aug 4, Sunday, 10:30 & 1:00
Aug 6, Tuesday, 10:30 & 1:00

DINOSAUR TICKETS

“WHAT WE SEE” THEATER WORKS AT 33 HAWLEY STREET AND SCDT

What We See
A.P.E. @ Hawley is launching "What We See", a month long project of five theater works in development at 33 Hawley Street and SCDT from July 7 – August 4, 2019.. “What We See” is designed to provide support for the evolving work of these five artists and artist groups. Each project will be provided a week of time and space in the flexible performance space at 33 Hawley St. and at SCDT, and will culminate in public showings at the end of each week. Each project was selected because of its unique vision- use of spoken language and movement, use of other mediums, choice of performers and audiences they hope to reach. “What We See” will assist each project deepen their investigations of what makes theater.

July 28-Aug.4: Real Live Theatre develops a new script, Far Reaches, culminating in a public reading/sharing. Ellen Morbyrne , co-founder of RLT, has written a first draft of a play called Far Reaches, in the genre of Cli-Fi (Climate Science Fiction, a genre of fiction that deals with the impacts of climate change and global warming). This full-length, two-person piece is set in a world of endless oceans where people live exclusively on rafts. It is a play that does invite audiences to consider the impacts of their own choices regarding climate change, but it is primarily a play about connection: How do we remember, and what do we remember? How do we survive, and how do we thrive? What are the ways in which we are different from one another, and what do we share in common? What happens to us in isolation, and what is connection worth to us? A workshop/staged reading version of the play will be shared with the public with a talk back. Public Showing: Sunday, August 4 at 2 & 5 pm. Sliding scale starts at $10.

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES

SCARLET SOCK FOUNDATION BEGINS GRANT CYCLE

Non-profit seeks to promote social-justice theater with $500 and $1,000 grants to qualifying theater companies and individuals

The Scarlet Sock Foundation is currently accepting grant applications. Theater companies and individuals with a social-justice focus are encouraged to apply online at scarletsock.org. Social-justice theater is a tool for promoting awareness of socially relevant topics. It’s a platform for the expression of individual differences and a catalyst for discussion for community members who fee marginalized and/or stigmatized. Companies whose work will include this focus will be considered for grants in the amount of either $500 or $1,000.

Children and/or young adults (ages 5-18) who are interested in attending theater arts camps, workshops, conferences, or other theater-related programs but are not able to attend because of financial need are encouraged to apply for individual grants.

Theater companies who receive Scarlet Sock Foundation grants will be invited to share their projects at the foundation’s annual gala in 2020.

The Vintage Cellar East

We are a large vintage mall in The Keystone Mill in Easthampton, MA. Check us out if you are a local playhouse or theatre looking to rent props or even buy props for period pieces that can be reused.

Please feel free to email or call 413 977 1978.

JOB OPENING at UMass Amherst
VISITING ARTIST IN PLAYWRITING/LECTURER POSITION

The Department of Theater at the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure-track lecturer in African American Theater and Playwriting/Playmaking. This is a spring semester initial appointment with the possibility of renewal for an additional year, beginning January 15, 2020. The Department seeks a candidate with experience in playwriting and/or playmaking, African American theater and/or African American cultural production and a demonstrated record of professional theater experience at the national level.
Responsibilities include: Teaching courses in playwriting/playmaking and African American theater, teaching undergraduate- and graduate MFA-level courses, and interacting with the Department’s multicultural curriculum and public outreach initiatives. This position is central to the Department’s interest in exploring and generating new theatrical works, both in workshop form and on our main stages as part of our production season. Candidate must have M.F. A. in Theater or equivalent professional experience. Salary is commensurate with experience.
To apply, please submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae (including email and phone contact information for references) and three current letters of recommendation to UMass Theater Chair Gina Kaufmann via email.

Springfield College Theater seeking Scenic Designer/Technical Director
August 26, 2019
Springfield Colllege scene shop and Fuller Arts Center theater

The Theater Program at Springfield College invites applicants for a position as Scenic Designer/Technical Director for the Springfield College Theater. The program produces one play each semester, and the position is contracted on a per production fee basis. To apply, please contact Professor Martin Shell, Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts department, at mshell@springfieldcollege.edu, with a letter of interest, CV, and references.

WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

Phantom Sheep Productions presents LaughCrafters: Comedy Improv Classes
By Popular demand: New Summer Session!
Mondays 7-9PM
Six Weeks Starting July 22nd 2019
Springfield JCC

Open to the general public!
Adults & Teens 15+

Game On! All levels improv overview filled with discovering characters, quick thinking drills, and creative collaboration finding the funny in the present moment. Everyone challenged at their own pace in a very encouraging and supportive environment. Great for actors, writers, or anyone who loves to laugh!

Lead instructor: Eric Boucher assisted by other Phantom Sheep troupe members.
Email improv@phantomsheep.com to reserve your spot. Fee not due until class begins. Payment plans available.

Facebook event here.

STCC presents The Play's The Thing
Program runs July 29-August 2
$279
STCC Campus

A week of theater immersion for kids ages 11-14 that includes theater games, improvisation, and an adaptive short play performed at the end of the week for family and friends. This week of theater builds social skills, confidence, and self-esteem.

More information.

Real Live Theatre presents Choreographing Intimacy: a one-day intensive for all theatre practitioners
August 17 at 10:00 AM
45 Amherst Road, Sunderland MA 01375

“Intimacy Choreography” is a relatively new concept, having emerged out of a need to protect actors from unsafe working conditions and blurred boundaries. It is an important practice not only for the mental, physical, and emotional health of actors, but also for the experience of the audience: the more safe and grounded the performers, the more electric the scene. Utilizing techniques from multiple disciplines, including yoga, dance, and theater, Ellen and Toby will guide participants through a safe and specific process to develop choreography that feels motivated and appropriate for characters and situation, as well as authentic and dynamic in terms of external behaviors.

•As a performer, the take away will include language with which to speak to your director and co-actors and tools to create safe working conditions when there aren’t any.

•As a director, teacher, or choreographer, you will learn how to build a safe environment, lead exercises to create trust within that environment, and utilize specific skills for analyzing and staging intimate moments.

•As an arts administrator, you will learn best practices for ensuring safe working conditions for your employees.

Check out the website for all the logistics and to register. Register by July 20 and receive $25 off the workshop cost!

Email Ellen and Toby with any questions.