Alison Larkin Presents’ “Moby-Dick” nominated for 2022 Audie Award
STOCKBRIDGE — In the world of audiobook publishing, there is no higher honor than the annual Audie Awards. This year, tiny but esteemed audiobook producer Alison Larkin Presents of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is competing with larger publishers in the audiobook business for the 2022 Audie Award in the Literary Fiction & Classics category.
Larkin’s “Moby-Dick,” narrated by Berkshire actor Jonathan Epstein, is nominated alongside audiobooks published by Macmillan Audio, HarperAudio, and Penguin Audio. Larkin’s small recording studio welcomed Epstein last year to narrate Herman Melville’s classic tale, considered one of the greatest American novels ever written.
The audiobook was launched at a release party/fundraiser last spring at Arrowhead, Melville’s 1840s home in Pittsfield, with proceeds from the evening’s sales supporting the historic site.
“Moby-Dick” is the product of 60 hours of audio recording and another 60 hours of sound editing, to produce 25 hours of listening. It can be purchased at Alison Larkin Presents, on CDs or as an audio download.
—A.K.
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Berkshire County Historical Society to present Berkshires Black History lecture series
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire County Historical Society (BCHS) at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead will present a series of three talks by historian Dr. Cynthia Farr Brown, drawn from her research and reading on the history of Black, indigenous, and mixed-race people in the Berkshires, mostly before the Civil War. The virtual series, Casting Their Own Light: Perspectives on Berkshires Black History, is free. Please contact melville@berkshirehistory.org to receive the Zoom link.
Dr. Brown is the BCHS board president. She also serves on the executive committee of the Berkshire County Education Task Force, and as an associate member of Pittsfield’s Community Development Board. She has a doctorate in U.S. history and her scholarly publications have included co-editing “Lesley University: Celebrating Excellence 1909-2009” (2011,) as well as other book chapters and articles. She is currently Associate Commissioner for Regulatory and Veterans Affairs at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m.
Pittsfield’s First Black Neighborhoods: Thoughts on Black Community in 19th C. Pittsfield
In this first talk, Dr. Brown explores questions of where Black people of Pittsfield lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the kinds of communities they formed. By reconsidering both well-known resources such as census records and deeds, as well as more obscure records such as town road work lists, Dr. Brown asserts there were at least two or three neighborhood groups of Black households in Pittsfield during that time, which coalesced as Black people left or escaped enslavement and started their lives as free people. The existence of one such neighborhood in south central Pittsfield, parts of which persisted into the early 20th century, suggests contacts that may have shaped Herman Melville’s attitudes about and experiences with Black people during his youth.
Wednesday, March 23 at 5 p.m.
Women of Color in the Berkshires before 1850
While common knowledge of women of color in Berkshires history often turns on the remarkable life of Elizabeth “Mum Bet” Freeman, there were other women of color, knowledge of whose lives contributes to an expanded understanding of the Berkshires. Dr. Brown will introduce three of these women: Polly (Eldridge) Williams (c.1783–1861); Adeline Grant (1813–1895); and Sarah (Lloyd) Askins (1818–1906).
Wednesday, April 13 at 5 p.m.
From the Slave’s Cause to Civil Rights: Community and Liberty in the Berkshires before 1909
Dr. Brown approaches the commonly held progressive arc of Black history in Massachusetts — enslavement, abolition of slavery under the Massachusetts constitution, leadership in the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the success of the 20th C. civil rights movement — by suggesting that newer scholarship tells a more complex story. She will describe research-informed Berkshires scenarios that complicate the classic trajectory. Her talk considers what we can still discover about how individuals and communities shaped their own and our shared history.
—A.K.
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Shakespeare & Co. presents Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award to Mary Ann Turney
LENOX — Mary Ann Turney of Otis, Massachusetts, and Mesa, Arizona, has been presented the Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award by Shakespeare & Company, for exemplary volunteer service for more than a decade.
Established in 2019, the Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award and Fund was created by Anita Heller of Lenox in memory of her husband Philip who served as pro bono legal counsel to Shakespeare & Company from its inception in 1978 until his death in 2018. The fund makes annual recognition of a member of the community for extraordinary service to the Company possible, with surplus funds used to make improvements to Shakespeare & Company’s campus.
“Phil loved Shakespeare & Company, and he loved both the community and the arts of the Berkshires,” said Heller. “He volunteered a lot of his time, so it seemed logical to do something in his honor that also honors our very special volunteers.”
Stephen Ball, Shakespeare & Company’s general manager, said Turney’s management of the theater’s ushers is just one of her many notable contributions to the Volunteer Leadership Team. “Coordinating the schedules of so many volunteers, as well as training them, is arguably one of the largest functions in the Volunteer Company — helping to staff upwards of 200 performances per season,” he said, adding that Turney also incorporated the use of both ticket-scanning and online-scheduling software, helped create outdoor-ushering policies for two new outdoor theaters, and worked to staff on-site, drive-in movies during the COVID-19 shut-down. “She always works to provide as many ushers as we request each year, and has also stepped in to replace ushers on many occasions,” added Ball.
Similarly, Shakespeare & Company’s Artistic Director Allyn Burrows, who presented Turney’s award at a curtain ceremony last month, called the volunteers “the lifeblood of the Company.” “There’s a reason the gardens look the way they do,” he said. “There’s a reason we hear from our patrons how wonderful the ushers are, and there’s a reason our actors feel so welcome here.”
This is the third year the Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award has been presented; the first recipient was Sarah Lytle of Richmond, and the second Bob Lohbauer of Lee.
—A.K.
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WAM Theatre announces two free, virtual workshops; return of Teen Ensemble
LENOX — WAM Theatre invites community members to join the company on a journey of empowerment through creativity with two free, virtual workshops:
Playwriting with Winter Miller
Saturday March 19, 2-4 p.m.
Award-winning playwright Winter Miller will lead you through a series of writing prompts to spark inspiration and build authentic characters.
Improvisation with Tatiana Godfrey
Saturday March 26, 2-4 p.m.
Tatiana Godfrey, Impro’s co-artistic director and WAM’s company dramaturg, will lead you through theater and improv games to create unique stories.
WAM also announces the return of the Teen Ensemble. WAM’s Teen Ensemble promotes teamwork, self-confidence, and creativity. Parents, councilors, teachers, and community leaders are encouraged to nominate students who would thrive in this collaborative and creative environment. Held over Spring Break, April 19–23, this is a paid theatre workshop for young people aged 13-18. Applications are now available.
—A.K.
