“The Art of Theater,” “With My Own Hands” to be presented at PS21
CHATHAM, N.Y. — Following their residency at PS21 in December 2021, celebrated French playwright and director Pascal Rambert, actors Jim Fletcher and Ismail ibn Conner, and translator Nicholas Elliott return to PS21’s Black Box Theater for four public performances of “The Art of Theater” and “With My Own Hands,” January 14, 15, 22, and 23. This engagement is co-presented with The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival.
“The Art of Theater,” composed in 2007, is a manifesto about the nature of dramatic acting, spoken by a single actor who addresses his dog. The audience, in effect, eavesdrops on the monologue. Fletcher, who co-starred with Kate Moran in Rambert’s two-character “Love’s End” (Clôture de l’Amour), previously appeared at PS21 in 2019 in the title role of Compagnie l’heliotrope’s Pollock.
Since “With My Own Hands” was first performed in 1993, Rambert has adapted this protean meditation on the human condition, a soliloquy spoken by a wounded psyche on the brink of suicide, for a series of settings and performers, including the American actor Kate Moran in 2007. At the time, he said, “I wrote this text to be played by both men and women, young and old.” At PS21, Conner, who has performed widely in Centre Dramatique National Orléans’ production of Jean Genet’s Splendid’s and many other theatrical works, will embody the role of protagonist of this searing, enigmatic monologue. The work is a puzzle of dark ideas on the nature of the human condition, performed with a somber humor.
—A.K.
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Internet safety presentation postponed
NORTH ADAMS — The Internet safety presentation slated for Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Drury High School has been postponed. The organizers are postponing this event until March for the health and safety of all involved amid this most recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
—A.K.
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New nonprofits gain support from Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires
GREAT BARRINGTON — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC) is fiscally sponsoring four nascent Berkshire organizations: Latinas413, Love of T Foundation, Stewards of H.O.P.E., and The Story Sanctuary. As fiscally sponsored projects, these organizations can legally begin fundraising under the nonprofit 501c3 umbrella of NPC.
“While the missions vary greatly, these organizations all have one thing in common,” said Liana Toscanini, executive director of NPC. “They all have committed and visionary founders determined to pursue their programs and services while going through the legal process of becoming a designated nonprofit organization.”
Latinas413 ignites the collective power of Latinas in Berkshire County by serving as a bridge to available resources and increasing representation of Latina voices, needs, talents, and interests. The mission of The Love of T Foundation is to keep the loving spirit of Teresa Fitzgerald alive by promoting access to behavioral healthcare services and housing. Stewards of H.O.P.E. works in partnership with disenfranchised individuals coping with traumatic life situations in their journey towards stability and well-being. The Story Sanctuary is a wilderness-based retreat and learning center that supports personal growth, ecological awareness, and community resiliency through programs in storytelling, farming and nature connection. Berkshire Busk!, which launched last summer, is also a fiscally sponsored project of the NPC.
“It is taking about six months for the IRS to process applications for official 501c3 nonprofit designation,” said Toscanini. “The organizations we sponsor are already offering programs and finding support for their missions. Fiscal sponsorship provides a mechanism for fundraising, fiscal oversight, and built-in technical support through the many programs and services of the NPC.”
—A.K.
