Christ Trinity Church gets interim minister
Sheffield — Christ Trinity Church is now served by interim rector/pastor Rev. Dr. Randall K. Wilburn, following the July retirement of Rev. Anne E. Ryder.
Rev. Wilburn has been in parish ministry for 48 years. Ordained a Lutheran with graduate degrees and training from Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist and Congregational institutions including Harvard Divinity School, Wilburn also received training from the Sisters of Mercy and is a Spiritual Director. He practiced as a marriage and family therapist for 16 years. He has also been a consultant and trainer for congregations, colleges, camps, and service agencies focused upon strategic planning, conflict management, organizational development, stewardship, and staff development. Wilburn lives in Belchertown, Mass., with Karin, his wife of 52 years.
–E.E.
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Ghent Playhouse to hold auditions for ‘The 39 Steps’
Ghent, New York — The Ghent Playhouse will hold auditions for the first production of its 2016-17 theater season, “The 39 Steps,” on Tuesday, Aug. 16, and Wednesday, Aug. 17. Sign-in will be at 7 p.m. with auditions beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Based on the novel by John Buchan and the movie by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow, the production, to be directed by Deena Pewtherer, is a Tony Award– and Drama Desk Award-winner packed with laughs, an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, old-fashioned romance, and over 150 zany characters played by a cast of four. “The 39 Steps” will run Friday, Oct. 7 – Sunday, Oct. 23.
Three men and one woman are needed for the production. Those auditioning are asked prepare a joke to tell (no longer than one minute long) using a British accent. They will also be asked to read specific scenes from the script. Stamina, verbal and physical comedy skills, and multiple dialects are required for the roles, which are:
–Richard Hannay, early 30s – mid 40s: an attractive, dapper yet sedentary Canadian gentleman.
–Annabella Schmidt: An exotic secret agent*
–Pamela: A beautiful woman skeptical of Hannay*
–Margaret: A farmer’s wife*
–Clown 1 and Clown 2, Ages 20 and up: Played in the English Music Hall tradition, they play more than 30 characters, as well as the occasional piece of furniture. A variety of German, Scottish and English dialects are required.
*These roles will all be played by one actress aged 25 – 40s. German, Scottish, and cultured British dialects are required.
For more information, contact Deena Pewtherer at dpewtherer@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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Art exhibition at the Barn Gallery at Stonover Farm
Lenox — Suky Werman will present an exhibition of art in the Barn Gallery at Stonover Farm Friday, Aug. 12 – Wednesday, Aug. 31. The public is invited to join Werman and guests for an opening reception on Friday, Aug. 12, from 5 – 7 p.m.
The exhibition will include photography and tapestry by Susie Ganch, photography by Stanley Jaffee, paintings of Umbria by Lucy MacGillis, and gicleé prints by Jeanne Mullen. The works will be presented for view and sale, and a portion of the sales will support IS183 Art School of the Berkshires’ Learning Through Arts program.
For more information, contact Suky Werman at suky@stonoverfarm.com.
–E.E.
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Jonathan Epstein to speak and perform
Pittsfield — On Monday, Aug. 15 at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will present actor Jonathan Epstein, who plays Shylock in this summer’s Shakespeare & Company production of “The Merchant of Venice,” in a free performance and talk at Congregation Knesset Israel.
Epstein will perform selections from Shylock’s memorable speeches, and also discuss the character within a Jewish context. Epstein is celebrating his 29th season with Shakespeare & Company, having performed in more than 50 productions. He has also performed on and off-Broadway and at regional theatres around the country. He is a two-time Elliot Norton Award recipient as well as an associate professor of classical performance at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. In Sarasota, Florida.
For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10.
–E.E.
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Sienna Patti to present Sharon Church
Lenox – Sienna Patti will present “Queen Bee,” an exhibition of recent work by jeweler Sharon Church, Friday, Aug. 12 – Sunday, Sept. 18. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 5 – 7 p.m., and the artist will give a talk at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14.
Sharon Church is a studio jeweler and professor emerita of craft and material studies at the University of the Arts School of Art in Philadelphia. She received her B.S. from Skidmore College in 1970 and earned her M.F.A. at the School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1973. Church has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Craftsman’s Fellowship Grant and has twice been a finalist for the Pew Fellowship in the Arts. In 2008 she received the James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Educator Award. Her work is in the permanent collections of Yale University; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery of Australia; and others.
For more information, contact the gallery at (413) 637-8386 or office@siennapatti.com.
–E.E.
