Arts

Having successfully put on our first of two productions for 2016, Guiulford Center Stage needs just a few more actors for the fall.  We were pleased to have many of you from Brattleboro and other towns visit us this past weekend for our one-acts.  Though we’re particularly aimed at making Guilford Center a more viable village, and enjoying the fact that many of our actors and audience members are from Guilford, we are also rewarded by the participation from other towns.

This past weekend’s shows had actors from Westminster West, the West River Valley, Brattleboro (of course!) and Bernardston, Mass., among other towns, along with our Guilford ones.  

West Brattleboro, Vt. – Painters Collin Leech and Lori Schreiner are showing their work in a combined summer exhibit at All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist. An opening reception this Saturday, June 11, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., offers the public an opportunity to meet the artists and learn about their creative process while enjoying refreshments provided by the All Souls Arts Committee.

Showing a variety of large-format and smaller impressionist or expressive landscapes, Collin Leech has been working in a variety of mediums for many years, including oil, encaustic, ink-and-pastel drawing, and acrylic. “This year I have been working on combining these mediums in new ways,” Collin explains. “I have also been thinking about the ways my relationship to the landscape around me is changing.” She attended LaGuardia School for the Arts in New York City and went to Maryland Institute College of Art, taught for many years at Brattleboro’s River Gallery School, and now teaches encaustic collage and plein air painting at Main Street Arts in Saxtons River.

“Hurray for all kinds of things!” – Buoyed by that vague yet uplifting slogan, comedian Jon Gnarr galvanized the disaffected voters of Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2010. What began as political satire in the face of dysfunctional, corrupt and out-of-touch government, eventually became more than a joke, as Gnarr captured the hearts of voters in the 2010 race for mayor of Iceland’s largest city. His surprising campaign is the subject of the documentary “Gnarr,” which will be shown at the Latchis Theatre this Saturday, June 11, at 4 p.m.

It’s impossible not to see similarities with our own political scene, although what’s happening here is certainly less amusing than Gnarr’s campaign. Still, for all its lightness and humor, “Gnarr” touches a chord – people are tired of politics as usual and are looking to outsiders to shake things up. Not all outsiders possess the kindness, humor and common touch of Jon Gnarr, and that’s why, even though Reykjavik is thousands of miles away, “Gnarr” hits home.

Guilford Center Stage begins its second season with the premiere of a pair of one-act plays by Guilford playwright, Michael Nethercott, who also directs the production.   “Nocturne Titanica” is a unique take on the sinking of the Titanic. “The Lace Jury” is based on the first American all-women jury of the 20^th century.  Interestingly, the historic events on which the plays are based happened within 6 months of each other in 1911 and 1912.

There will be three performances: Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4 at 7:30 pm, and a matinee on Sunday, June 5 at 2 pm. at Broad Brook Grange.

Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts is a two-year-old gallery showcasing contemporary art in solo and group exhibitions. Along with its 183 Main Street Brattleboro location this southern Vermont destination gallery is planning a celebration for its new Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts Annex located in the Brooks House Atrium, 132 Main Street, with a public opening reception at the Atrium, Saturday, June 4, from 6 – 8pm.

Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts is pleased to introduce recent paintings by Donald Saaf with an artist reception and exhibition opening Thursday, June 2, 5-7 pm. The exhibit continues through July 10, with an Artist Talk scheduled for Saturday, June 18 at 7 pm.

Donald Saaf’s unique oil paintings provide a personal glimpse into regional landscape and community. His peopled rustic scenes are crafted with attention to overall surface pattern and texture; he utilizes collaged fabric, distorted perspective and highly stylized figures to create  rich, quilt-like surfaces alive with activity. Saaf suggests trying to “…see the pictures simultaneously both for their ‘story’ and as pure abstraction… hinting perhaps at the passage of time or suggestion that reality is more pliable than we usually think.”

General Admission tickets are now available for the Guilford Center Stage premiere of two one-act plays by Guilford author Michael Nethercott.  Nocturne Titanica is a unique take on the sinking of the Titanic. The Lace Jury is based on the first American all-women jury of the 20^th century.  Interestingly, the historic events on which the plays are based happened within 6 months of each other in 1911 and 1912.

There will be three performances: Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4 at 7:30 pm, and a matinee on Sunday, June 5 at 2 pm.  

Tickets are on sale now for the Brattleboro School of Dance annual spring concert, “For You…with Love” at the New England Youth Theatre on 100 Flat Street in downtown Brattleboro.

Artistic director Jennifer Moyse says “For You…With Love” is a collection of dance pieces in varying styles offered as a gift to the audience from the BSD community. “This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the school’s founding. So many of those early students now have their own children studying with us. We dance with gratitude for the years of support we’ve received.” 

Sunday evening, May 1st, 7pm at , the closing reception for exhibition featuring the works of Brearey from the past 20 years including many never before exhibited and several done in the past year and a . This event, open to all, also features a short film, music of , and a forum/conversation. 

Brearey is featured in the film showing, entitled “The Magic Lantern Along the Pennine Way” (17 minutes). “This was my summer collaboration with artist, Dylan Stone, and American musician, Tim Eriksen in England,” says Sue. “We spent 12 days working in the northern Peak’s District of England along the scenic national trail called the Pennine Way, which stretches across 286 miles of mountain tops and crosses Hadrian’s Wall.

Company of Muses and Brattleboro School of Dance present a preview performance of the 2016 spring concert, “For You…With Love” at the Historic Memorial Hall in Wilmington at 7:30pm on Saturday, May 14. 

Artistic director Jennifer Moyse says “For You…With Love” is a collection of dance pieces in varying styles offered as a gift to the audience from the BSD community. 

“This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the school’s founding. So many of those early students now have their own children studying with us,” says Moyse. “We dance with gratitude for the years of support we’ve received.” 

While editing video from the New England Youth Theatre’s March 12 celebration of Stephen Stearns, I hit upon a 30 second nugget that didn’t make the video’s final cut, but really did need to see the light of day. Details are scant, but remarkably, wonderfully, A Peasant of El Salvadore is returning to Brattleboro.

Preachers and Poets, the third collaborative poetry reading by Tom Ragle and Don McLean, will be presented on Thursday, April 21 at Guilford Community Church at 7:00 pm.  Admission is by a donation in any amount,  to benefit the work of the Church.

This program, the third in the series,  takes its title from the fact that four of the poets were also ordained ministers in three different denominations: Anglicans George Herbert and Robert Herrick, and, on very opposite poles, both strict in their particular ways, American Puritan Edward Taylor and English Jesuit, Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Another connection between the poets is that a majority of them did not see their poetry published in their lifetimes, and several were unknown to the public, including Emily Dickinson, who joins the lineup.  Completing the cast of three English and three American poets is Walt Whitman.  Numerous and interesting connections, in terms of both subject matter and technique amongst these poets, will be revealed during the evening. 

West Brattleboro, Vt. – Putney-based artist Adrienne Ginter has just installed two solo exhibits for spring viewing at opposite ends of the state. Locally, a show of twenty finely detailed watercolors, oils, and paper-cuttings can be seen through May at All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist in West Brattleboro. An opening reception is set for Saturday, April 16, 4:30 to 6:-00 p.m. The Governor’s Gallery at the State House in Montpelier is hosting a large exhibit of her paper-cuttings through late June.

The exhibit gracing gallery spaces at All Souls Church includes both intimately scaled and large-format works, some in archival print form. Ginter’s work explores elements of the natural world as well as fanciful narratives depicting ancient myths, history, and her personal experience. In her artist’s statement, Ginter shares that “every scene in nature tells a million little stories, and I work to incorporate an extreme amount of detail to tell not only the macro but the micro stories in a scene. This gives the viewer a greater sense of depth, not only visually but narratively, depending on how close they choose to engage with the piece.” It can take weeks to complete her largest paintings and 30 or more hours for up to ten layers of work in paper.

Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts is pleased to present Color & Construct, an exhibit featuring the mixed media assemblages of Lauren Pollaro. The show opens with a receptionThursday, April 21, at 5pm and continues through May 29. An Artist Talk is scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at 5pm.

 Lauren was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1962, and comes from a family of accomplished artists. Her father, Paul Pollaro, taught, served as Assistant Director of the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, and has exhibited nationally over a hugely successful and lengthy career.

You are cordially invited to the new exhibition, Susan Brearey: Elemental Images, reception for the artist and book launch – Saturday April 2, 4-6pm, C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue, Brattleboro, VT (802) 257-7898. Exhibition open daily by appointment. cxsilvergallery.com/susan-brearey.

Sandglass Theater’s New Visions Series presents When I Put On Your Glove
Join Sandglass in a process of transformation.

On April 1st -3rd Shoshana Bass will be performing her first work-in-progress showing of When I Put On Your Glove, which navigates the landscape of generational, artistic inheritance through puppetry, dance and spoken word. The piece explores Shoshana’s relationship to her father’s Autumn Portraits vignettes, and investigates past and present through the memories living within the puppets. Through engaging with the puppets, the piece addresses universal questions of belonging, childhood, fear of loss, and death. This piece will be presented as part of Sandglass Theater’s New Visions Series, which serves as a laboratory for new works by artists in the field of puppetry and movement-based theater.

Auditions will be held for two upcoming one-act plays on Tuesday February 23rd (6 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday February 28th (3 to 5 p.m.) The production is a project of Guilford Center Stage. Written and directed by local author Michael Nethercott, both works will be 

premiered in June. Nocturne Titanica is a mythological take on the sinking of the Titanic. The Lace Jury is based on one of the first all-women juries in the country at the turn of the century. Rehearsals will be largely in May, and the actual performances are Friday June 3, Saturday June 4 (both evening shows),

Brattleboro, Vt. – Painter Judy Hawkins, whose studio is a popular stop on the annual Putney Craft Tour in November, is showing recent work in gallery spaces at All Souls Church UU in West Brattleboro through the end of March. An artist’s reception is set for 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 13.

Judy knew she was an artist from the age of five or six and always seemed to have a view of her surroundings that was different from that of her friends. “When I paint,” she shares, “I have an internal ‘dialog’ with myself. I think this ‘conversation’ is hard-wired, but I’ve only recently recognized how important and integrated it is to how I see and interpret my sensory world, and how it takes form and color in my painting.”

There are still several places available for artists to travel to Spain as part of the River Gallery School’s trip in April. The trip, which will be held from April 2 to 9, is nearing capacity, but several places still remain.

The group will spend 7 nights in a charming hotel in Andalucia, about an hour south of Seville in a perfect setting for artists, photographers and anyone who wants to experience the soul of Spanish culture. There will be excursions to Seville and the nearby town of Ronda.

The tour will include a week of making art and exploration of the Spanish countryside. Pleine air painting sessions will be led by Mary Giammarino, a frequent instructor at River Gallery School workshops and a well known local artist.

Guilford Center Stage continues into its second year with spring and fall productions of plays with strong connections to Guilford, continuing its mission to present place-based theater on the stage at Broad Brook Grange.  The new theater project debuted last fall with a production of the comedy, Tourists Accommodated, by Vermont author, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, who often visited Guilford.

A pair of one-acts by Guilford playwright Michael Nethercott opens the 2016 season in early June.  At the other end of the season, Charles W. Henry, who was born in Guilford in 1850, will be represented by his only known extant play, performed on the stage with the theater curtains which he painted around 1900.