Friday, February 14, 2025

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Bits & Bytes: PI Power Trio at Hancock Shaker Village; ‘Fuddy Meers’ at the Whit; Teens Night Out art workshops; Columbia County Youth Theatre performances; ‘Objects of Desire’ at Eclipse Mill Gallery

Teens can spark their imaginations and creative thinking this summer with art workshops run by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires on the first Friday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts.

Hancock Shaker Village to welcome PI Power Trio

Pittsfield — Hancock Shaker Village will welcome the PI Power Trio to its Shaker Barn Music Series Saturday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m.

The PI Power Trio is made up of Pat Irwin on guitar and electronics, Sasha Dobson on drums and vocals, and Daria Grace on bass and vocals. Guitarist and composer Irwin has dozens of album and soundtrack credits to his name. He was a member of the B-52s for 20 years as well as a founding member of the Raybeats and 8 Eyed Spy. He has written music for HBO‘s “Bored To Death,” Showtime‘s “Nurse Jackie,” “Rocko’s Modern Life,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Class of 3000” and many other cartoons, films and TV shows. Puss n Boots, Dobson’s project with Norah Jones, released their album, “No Fools, No Fun,” on Blue Note Records in 2014. She has released five solo records and her most recent single, “Unchained,” dropped earlier this year. Grace has been singing and playing on the New York scene for over 20 years. She also records and performs with her band the Pre-War Ponies, who specialize in obscure tunes from the 1920s and ‘30s.

Tickets are $18–$25. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, or contact Hancock Shaker Village at (413) 442-0188 or info@hancockshakervillage.org.

–E.E.

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Whitney Center for the Arts to present ‘Fuddy Meers’

Casey McShain. Photo courtesy Whitney Center for the Arts

Pittsfield — The Whitney Center for the Arts will present “Fuddy Meers” by David Lindsay-Abaire, a fully staged comedy directed by Patrick Toole and Annie Rosenberg, Saturday, July 7, through Sunday, July 15.

“Fuddy Meers” tells the story of Claire, an amnesiac who awakens each morning as a blank slate. Each day her husband and teenage son must remind her of the facts of her life. One morning Claire is abducted, and oddball, bizarre mayhem ensues. Lindsay-Abaire received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play “Rabbit Hole,” which also earned several Tony Awardnominations. He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical “Shrek the Musical,” receiving a 2009 Tony Award nomination. “Fuddy Meers” was nominated for the 2000 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award.

This summer marks the theatrical directorial debut for director Toole, who is also a film director, actor, educator, co-creator of the Whitdiots improv troupe and Emergent Ensemble Theatre Company, and creator of New Myths Film and Theater Company. Leading the cast as Claire is Casey McShain. She is joined on stage by Toole as Richard, James Fisher as Kenny, Chris Brophy as Limping Man, Hunter Washburne as Millet, Sally McCarthy as Gertie and Brittany Nicholson as Heidi.

Tickets are $18 general admission, and $15 for students and seniors. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, or contact the Whitney Center for the Arts at (413) 443-0279 or info@thewhit.org.

–E.E.

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IS183 to present Teens Night Out art workshops

Pittsfield — Teens can spark their imaginations and creative thinking this summer with art workshops run by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires on the first Friday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts.

A print workshop Friday, July 6, with Michael Vincent Bushy will show teens the techniques of monoprinting. Participants will leave with their own print collages of textures, colors and designs to craft into journals, posters and more. On Friday, Aug. 3, a paper workshop with Nicole Irene will use magazines, drawn images and ephemera to cut and glue to create participants’ own worlds and illustrated stories. On Friday, Sept. 7, Lucie Castaldo will present a photo workshop that will explore alternative photography processes. Each student will walk away with a working matchbox pinhole camera and a camera obscura.

The cost of each workshop is $30. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact IS183 at (413) 298-5252 x100.

–E.E.

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Columbia County Youth Theatre to stage free performances

Columbia County Youth Theatre’s 2018 Performance Company. Front row: Jennifer Albrecht, Anna Sundwall. Middle row: Holly Elden, Lily Strattman, Gianna Sandagato. Back row: Lexi Beaumont, Noah Fey Hamm, Kiersten Berry, Amelia Scheriff. Photo courtesy Crandell Theatre

Chatham, N.Y. — Columbia County Youth Theatre will present two performances of “A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS” at the Crandell Theatre Saturday, July 7, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. as part of the 2018 Chatham Summerfest.

“A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS” is a 35-minute adaptation of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical based on Arnold Lobel’s books. The jazzy, upbeat score features music by Robert Reale with book and lyrics by Willie Reale. The story tells of two best friends who, throughout the seasons, celebrate and rejoice in the differences that make them unique. Directed by Edgar Acevedo and choreographed by Jamie Faxon-Baksa, this collaboration between CCYT and the Crandell Theatre marks the third summer that CCYT’s Performance Company has appeared on the theatre’s stage.

The performances are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Crandell Theatre at (518) 392-3445 or mail@crandelltheatre.org.

–E.E.

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Eclipse Mill Gallery hosts ‘Objects of Desire’ exhibit

‘B Torso’ by Larry Alice. Image courtesy Eclipse Mill Gallery

North Adams — The Eclipse Mill Gallery will hold an artists’ reception for “Objects of Desire” Friday, July 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. “Objects of Desire” pairs whimsical narrative paintings by Joan Kiley with sculpture and polychromed assemblages by Larry Alice. The exhibit is on view through Sunday, July 29.

Kiley is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art where she studied painting and graphic art. Said Kiley: “My paintings are images of feelings about laughter at sex and our bodies … The abstract pieces convey my love of flowing water, the essence of life, and of repetition.”

Trained as an engineer, Alice’s work explores Gothis themes with materials and process that range from paintings to sculpture and assemblages. “This latest work was inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein,’ said Alice. “The work is made from the natural materials he would find, like plaster and sticks and paint.”

For more information, contact the Eclipse Mill Gallery at gallery@eclipsemill.com.

–E.E.

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