‘Women’s Shorts’ to celebrate women playwrights
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College and the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers will present “Women’s Shorts,” a celebration of women playwrights, at BCC’s Boland Theater at 8 p.m. Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 9.
The brainchild of founding artistic director Yvette “Jamuna” Sirker, “Women’s Shorts” debuted in 2015 as part of the 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival at the Whitney Center for the Arts. This year’s performances are co-produced with BCC’s theater department and its technical director Kevin McGerigle. Local playwrights and performers Anne Undeland, Jane Denitz Smith, Cindy L. Parrish and Maizy Broderick Scarpa are the featured artists. BCC students will also participate in both performance and technical capacities. The featured plays are “The Marrow in the Bone” by Jane Denitz Smith, “WomAnimal,” by Cindy L. Parrish, “The Luckiest Unlucky” by Anne Undeland and “Adults” by Maizy Broderick Scarpa.
Tickets are $10 general admission and free for students. For more information or to reserve tickets, call the BCC box office at (413) 499-0886.
–E.E.
* * *
Stockbridge Library to host presentations on fake news
Stockbridge — On Saturday, April 8, and Saturday, April 22, at 4 p.m., the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will offer presentations under the heading: “Consider the Source: Truth and News in the Misinformation Age.”
Stockbridge Library director Katherine O’Neil will present the April 8 program, “Fakes or Fakes: Finding Reliable Information in the Digital Age.” She will explain how to find reliable, honest and reasonably objective information online in today’s often polarized environment and will also discuss the effect of social media on the information landscape.
The April 22 program, “Fake News, Real News: Why the Difference Matters to Our Democracy,” will focus on the news media. Panelists will include NPR ombudsman Elizabeth Jensen and Berkshire Eagle editorial page editor Bill Everhart. John Felton, a freelance journalist living in Lee, will act as moderator.
Both programs are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the library at (413) 298-5501 or info@stockbridgelibrary.org.
–E.E.
* * *
‘Cellblock Visions: Making and Teaching Art in Prison’
Stockbridge — As part of its Art for a Civil Society talk series, the Norman Rockwell Museum will host “Cell Block Visions: Making and Teaching Art in Prison” on Saturday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. Artist/educator Phyllis Kornfeld will describe the compelling alternative art world that exists within the prison system.
The author of “Cell Block Visions: Prison Art in America,” Kornfeld has explored the creative process with incarcerated men and women for more than 30 years; her work has inspired many with no previous training who have turned to art for a sense of self-respect and respect for others in order to find peace.
A reception will follow. The program is free for museum members, or included with regular museum admission. Those interested in attending the program only may do so for $10. For more information contact NRM at (413) 298-4100.
–E.E.
* * *
Nawal Nour to speak at Williams
Williamstown — Dr. Nawal Nour, director of the ambulatory obstetrics practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor and director of the African Women’s Health Center at Harvard Medical School, will deliver the Public Health Class of 1960 lecture at Williams College, titled “Global Women’s Health: Saving Lives,” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, in Griffin Hall, Room 3.
Nour actively researches the health and policy issues regarding female genital cutting. She established the African Women’s Health Center at Harvard Medical School and was honored as a 2003 MacArthur Foundation Fellow for creating the country’s only center of its kind that focuses on both physical and emotional needs of women who have undergone FGC.
A board certified obstetrician/gynecologist, Nour was born in the Sudan and raised in Egypt and England. She came to the United States to attend Brown University. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1994 and completed a chief residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1998. She received the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Health Policy at Harvard School of Public Health where she obtained her master’s degree in public health in 1999. She has received honorary degrees from Bowdoin College and Williams College for her community work and outreach.
For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
* * *
HospiceCare to offer support for loss of spouse or partner
Pittsfield — HospiceCare in the Berkshires will host a drop-in monthly support group for those who have lost a spouse or partner. The next group meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday, April 18, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. HospiceCare believes that talking with others who have had similar experiences can help ease the burden of partner loss and the group is open to anyone who has lost a spouse or significant other. For more information call (413) 443-2994.
–E.E.
