Fifth annual Made in the Berkshires Festival
Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group is pleased to announce that the fifth annual Made in the Berkshires Festival will be held on its stages Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25. Made in the Berkshires is a locally grown festival of new works including theatre, film, dance, poetry, music, short stories, performances, and visual art. The schedule of events is as follows.
The opening night celebration on Friday, October 23 will begin with a visual art show and cocktail reception in the lobby of the Colonial Theatre at 6:30 p.m. “DRAWN,” a collection of works by Berkshires-based artists, is co-curated by Carrie Wright and Rebecca Weinman and will be on view throughout the festival. It features works in a variety of mediums by artists Lucie Castaldo, Catherine Delphia, Huckleberry Delsignore, Ben Evans, Nathan Hanford, Tatiana Klacsmann, Stephan Lanphear, Matthew Larkin, Wendy Rabinowitz, and Bill Wright.
The opening night program on the Colonial stage at 7:30 p.m. will include a film by Joe Wheaton that highlights the five-year journey of the Made in the Berkshires Festival; jazz prodigy Nico Wohl with Andy Wrba and his Darrow School music students; Xfinity Theatre Company performing Verbatim theatre with “The Today Show” as the theme; Albany Berkshire Ballet performing two dances from “The Rockwell Suite;” Amber Chand in Poetry Out Loud; Williamstown folk band Long Journey; cellist Ivan Trabka performing Sonata no. 1 in B minor by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly; Stockbridge-based dancer Ruslan Sprague with partner Giorgia Comeau; and Andres Ramirez and his Bboys performing as Funk Box Studio.
To close out the evening, a “Taste of the Berkshires” reception in the Colonial lobby will feature Berkshire farm-to-table produce and locally crafted foods.
On Saturday, October 24, the Unicorn Theatre will host two performance blocks. Block One: The Shorts will take place 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. and will include ”Spell Breaking” by Donnaldson Brown; “Vulnerabilities” by Elizabeth Young; ”Stone Toss” by Rik Barberi; ”Fifteen Dollar Family” by Paul G. O’Connor; and “Little Dickens,” scripted for stage and directed by Ralph L. Petillo. Block Two will run from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. and will feature ”Hurricane Hotel” by Aimee Michel and adapted from the novel of the same name by J.K. Lawson. The day will conclude with a performance of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming.”
Events at the Colonial Theatre on Saturday, October 24 will include a visual artist panel and reception at 5 p.m. and Dance Extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. featuring Darrell Pucciarello Dance/Ballets Metropolis, Berkshire Dance Theatre, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Ruslan Sprague and Giorgia Comeau, and Funk Box Studio.
On Sunday, October 25, the Colonial Theatre will present Sebastian the Magician in the lobby at noon, and two performance film blocks. Block One will begin at 1 p.m. with “Cherry Cottage” produced by Hans Morris and directed by Dave Simonds. Block Two will start at 3:30 p.m. and include “You Can Call Me Sal” by Eric J. Shepherd and “A Small Good Thing” by Pamela Tanner Boll.
A closing reception for passholders and invited guests will close out the festival at 5:30 p.m. at Hotel on North.
Tickets to Made in the Berkshires events range in price from $10 – $48. Three-day all-access passes are $75 and include VIP access to all events, 20% off of tickets for the run of “The Homecoming,” and an invitation to the closing party at Hotel on North. Contact the Colonial ticket office at (413) 997-4444.
–E.E.
