Tig Notaro to headline High Mud Comedy Fest
North Adams — Fresh from a whirlwind few years that included a Grammy nomination a stand-up album, documentaries on Netflix and Showtime, a hit podcast, an HBO special, and a new gig as the star, writer, and producer of a semi-autobiographical dark comedy on Amazon, comedy superstar Tig Notaro will headline Mass MoCA’s inaugural High Mud Comedy Festival.
The Festival will take place Friday, March 11, and Saturday, March 12, and will also include performances from Sean Patton, Ophira Eisenberg of NPR’s “Ask Me Another,” and Dave Hill — plus local heroes Tom Lewis, Seth Brown, and Mark Jagiello.
Tickets are $42 in advance, $55 on the day of performance, and $32 for students. The Festival is recommended for those aged 16 and up; parental discretion is advised. For more information see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call Mass MoCA at (413) 662-2111.
–E.E.
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Artist Edgar Heap of Birds to speak at Williams
Williamstown — Visual artist Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne name: Hock E Aye VI) will speak at Williams College on Wednesday, March 9, at 4:30 p.m. in Room 231 of Lawrence Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Edgar Heap of Birds’ artwork includes multi-disciplinary forms of public art messages, large-scale drawings, neuf series acrylic paintings, prints, works in glass, and monumental porcelain enamel-on-steel outdoor sculpture. He has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and the documenta in Germany. He has received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Lila Wallace Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Andy Warhol Foundation. He has been teaching courses at the University of Oklahoma since 1988 and has also taught at Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, and the Michaelis School of Fine Art. Heap of Birds received his B.A. from the University of Kansas, his M.F.A. from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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BTG hosts the Receiver
Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) will welcome progressive alternative band the Receiver to the Garage on Thursday, March 10, at 8 p.m.
The Receiver is made up of brothers Casey (vocals, synths/keyboards, bass) and Jesse Cooper (drums and vocals) and the band’s sound consists of organ-based melody lines, piercing synth overtones, and foot-stomping bass and drums. Formed in 2005 the brothers’ venture expanded on ideas composed the previous year by Casey for his senior thesis in music composition studies at Ohio State University. The band recently signed to Kscope and released its self-produced third album, “All Burn,” in June 2015.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of show. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Colonial ticket office at (413) 997-4444.
–E.E.
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Author Sonia Pilcer to speak at Hevreh
Great Barrington — On Friday, March 11, Hevreh of Southern Berkshire’s Knosh & Knowledge series will host Sonia Pilcer. Pilcer is a second-generation descendant of Holocaust survivors as well as an award-winning author, screenwriter, and dramatist. The program will be presented by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at 10:45 a.m. and will be followed by a buffet lunch.
Sonia Pilcer is the author of six novels including “The Holocaust Kid,” an autobiographical novel inspired by her family’s experiences. She will discuss what it meant to grow up as an American girl living under the shadow of the Holocaust but with no real experience of the horror. She will share excerpts from several of her books to illustrate how, as one of her parents’ family friends from Europe said, “No matter what the subject, we always end up talking about the war.”
Pilcer has received a New York Foundation for the Arts grant and fellowships at Yaddo and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is married with a son and lives in New York City and in the Berkshires.
The program is open to the public. The $11 admission price includes the lunch. Participants may attend the program only for $5. Advance reservations for lunch are required. For more information or to make the required reservations, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10 or email jfb.officemanager@verizon.net.
–E.E.
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Autism and learning differences training
Lee – The College Internship Program (CIP) and Dr. Brenda Smith Myles will present a program entitled “Practical Strategies to Navigate Life and Its Transitions for Young Adults With Autism and Other Learning Differences” on Thursday, March 10, from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., CIP Berkshire, 40 Main St, Suite 3, in Lee.
The presentation will focus on simple strategies that can make navigating life a bit easier for young adults with autism, ADHD, and other learning differences. Discussion topics will include executive function and social awareness, including the hidden curriculum. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of recognizing that everyone has unlimited potential. Educators, professionals, and families of students with autism, Asperger’s, and other learning differences are invited to attend.
Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D., is a consultant with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence and the Ziggurat Group. She is the recipient of the 2004 Autism Society of America’s Outstanding Professional Award and the 2006 Princeton Fellowship Award. She is also a CIP Advisory Board Member.
The cost of the program is $35. For more information contact Matthew Kosiorek at mkosiorek@cipworldwide.org.
–E.E.
