VIM Berkshires screens patients for ‘Social Determinants of Health’
Great Barrington — Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM) is the first medical organization in southern Berkshire County to launch a multi-agency effort to screen patients for nonmedical factors that influence health status.
For the past six months, VIM has formalized and expanded a program called “Social Determinants of Health” that is run in partnership with the Berkshire Community Action Council. Using a benefits hub, patients who need help are referred by VIM Berkshires’ community health worker to a network of other social service organizations.
VIM Berkshires’ mission is to provide access to quality health care in a respectful and caring manner for income-qualified, uninsured and underinsured adults living in the Berkshires. VIM Berkshires provides free medical and dental care, mental health services, optometry, nutrition counseling, massage and acupuncture and has pioneered shared medical appointments and non-opioid pain management programs in Berkshire County.
–E.E.
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1753 House carol sing

Williamstown — The 1753 House Committee invites the community to the 43rd annual 1753 House carol sing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 20 (rain/snow date is Thursday, Dec. 22), at the 1753 House in Field Park at the intersection of routes 2 and 7. The carol sing is a free, ecumenical event for all ages.
Deborah Burns will lead a cappella singing beside a roaring blaze in the fireplace. Carol books and hot mulled cider will be provided. There is no heat or electricity in the 1753 House so participants are advised to dress warmly and bring a candle.
Parking will available at the Williams Inn and the David & Joyce Milne Public Library.
–E.E.
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The Barn at Egremont Village Inn holds auditions for the musical ‘Spring Awakening’

Egremont — Harrison Lang, in cooperation with the Barn at the Egremont Village Inn, has announced auditions for the hit Broadway musical “Spring Awakening.” Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, “Spring Awakening” explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood through an illuminating and poignant book and score by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik and is a blend of morality, sexuality and rock and roll.
Auditions will be held Thursday, Jan. 5, and Friday, Jan. 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. Callbacks will take place on Saturday, Jan. 7, from noon to 4 p.m. Those who wish to audition should prepare a 32-bar cut of both an up-tempo rock song and a ballad in the appropriate key and are asked to bring an up-to-date resume and headshot. An accompanist will be provided and there will be no a cappella auditions.
To schedule an audition, email SpringAwakeningEB@gmail.com with two preferred times, name and phone number. Auditions will be held at the Barn. Due to the mature themes and explicit language of the show, all those auditioning must be 17 years of age or older.
–E.E.
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IS183 to offer winter programming
Stockbridge — IS183 Art School of the Berkshires has announced its winter programming for children. Sessions will begin Friday, Jan. 27, at locations in both north and south Berkshire County for ages 3 and up.
“Art Discovery,” for ages 3–5 with caregiver, will celebrate each child’s unique expressive style and with stories, movement, music and games. Afterschool programs for ages 5–12 will include “Food Explorers,” which will involve creating harvests of fruits and vegetables in clay, and “Sensational Spirals,” which will feature string art, stamped clay tiles, symmetrical drawings, mosaic collages and polyhedron sculptures. February vacation camp for ages 5–12 will encompass “Chilling With Art,” a mixed-media exploration of winter unique with experiments in color, material and process with winter scene luminaries, colored ice globes, clay construction, watercolor resist painting, growing crystal snowflakes and making faux snow. Clay studio for teens will explore the ceramic studio and include wheel throwing, hand-building and a new collection of molds for casting. “Smash the Masters” will experiment with Xerox lithography, cut paper, installation, and sculptural approaches to creating unique pieces of art that break the mold.
For more information, call IS183 at (413) 298-5252 x100.
–E.E.
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Jacob’s Pillow announces 85th season

Becket — Jacob’s Pillow has announced that its 85th anniversary season will run Saturday, June 17, through Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, and will feature world premieres, commissions, site-specific work, international artists, live music and Pillow-exclusive engagements and is the first season programmed by Pamela Tatge, the Pillow’s director, who joined the organization in April 2016.
Highlights of the 85th anniversary season include “TIRELESS,” a tap dance experience curated by Michelle Dorrance with artists Reona and Takashi Seo of Japan, Jumaane Taylor of Chicago, Joe Orrach of San Francisco and Joseph and Josette Wiggan of Los Angeles; a new work by Pilobolus Dance Theater commissioned for the Pillow’s outdoor Inside/Out stage; the world premiere of “The Principles of Uncertainty,” a collaboration between modern dance artist John Heginbotham and author/illustrator Maira Kalman; the U.S. debut of Israeli dance company Roy Assaf Dance; and rare U.S. appearances by Compagnie Marie Chouinard of Canada and Compañía Irene Rodríguez of Cuba, whose program will also include a world premiere.

The Pillow will continue its decades-long commitment to presenting, commissioning and supporting the creation of new work. Compañía Irene Rodríguez’s program will feature a world premiere work, in addition to the Pillow-commissioned world premieres by Pilobolus Dance Theater, Jessica Lang Dance, and Dance Heginbotham, as well as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s commissioned “Línea Recta” for Ballet Hispanico.
The season will offer a range of special engagements taking place outside of the Pillow’s traditional theatre spaces. Two works will be created in conversation with its natural setting, including the aforementioned Pilobolus Dance Theater’s commissioned world premiere. Japanese artist Eiko Otake’s site-specific “A Body at the Pillow” will take place across the grounds with three performances on Saturday, July 22. The Pillow will present free performances at each Pittsfield Third Thursday event throughout the summer. Select Festival artists will also deepen their impacts on the community by offering special artist residency activities. Dorrance will present a new event benefitting the Pillow’s community engagement programs—an all-styles dance battle in the Doris Duke Theatre with Festival artists, participants of the School at Jacob’s Pillow, and New England-based street artists on Sunday, July 2.
Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, April 3, 2017, online at 12:01 a.m. and via phone at 10 a.m.; Jacob’s Pillow Members can order tickets beginning Tuesday, Jan. 17. For more information, call (413) 243-9919.
–E.E.