Community Access to the Arts presents “Finding New Rhythms,” a powerful performance by artists with disabilities
Lenox— On Saturday May 13th and Sunday May 14th, Community Access to the Arts (CATA) presents its Gala and Annual Performance “Finding New Rhythms,” a powerful performance by artists with disabilities, at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox.
CATA’s Annual Performance is the culmination of hundreds of performing arts workshops that serve 800 people with disabilities across Berkshire and Columbia counties. CATA’s Annual Performance features more than 30 performers with disabilities sharing their talents in dance, theater, music, comedy, and more. The gala is a critical fundraiser for CATA: one-third of the nonprofit’s annual budget comes from gala donations, and every dollar raised supports life-changing arts programs for people with disabilities.
“After three years of virtual and film performances, CATA artists are excited to be back on stage at Shakespeare & Company to perform for a live, in-person audience!” says Margaret Keller,
CATA’s Executive Director. “CATA artists and faculty have created original new work in dance, music, theater, comedy, and juggling. The show is packed with unforgettable moments—from poignant and moving, to side-splittingly funny. It’s a full artistic experience!”
“Our theme “Finding New Rhythms” explores the multitude of rhythms in CATA’s vibrant community of artists,” says Kelly Galvin, CATA Program and Annual Performance Director. “Through the performance, the audience and artists will embark on a shared experience—and find a new rhythm together by the show’s end.”
The Gala evening is on Saturday, May 13th at 5 p.m. and the Matinee Performance on Sunday, May 14th at 1 p.m. and is followed by a cast party and public reception. Matinee tickets are “Pay What You Will” and are available through the Shakespeare & Company box office. Order online at Shakespeare.org or call the box office at 413- 637-3353.
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Michael Dumanis in a Q&A with visiting poet, Roger Reeves, author of “Best Barbarian and King Me”
Bennington— On Thursday, May 11th from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., as part of the Poetry at Bennington Series, the public is invited to join Michael Dumanis in a Q&A with visiting poet Roger Reeves. Roger Reeves is the author of “Best Barbarian“ (W.W. Norton & Co., 2022), a finalist for the National Book Award, and “King Me” (Copper Canyon Press, 2013), a Library Journal Best Poetry Book of 2014 and winner of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Larry Levis Reading Prize, the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, and a John C. Zacharias First Book Award from Ploughshares.
The recipient of a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton, a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship from Harvard, and a Whiting Writers’ Award, Reeves is a professor in the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Q&A is on Thursday, May 11th from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the CAPA Symposium on College Drive in Bennington. For more information, visit Poetry at Bennington online.
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The Foundry brings back Adiós Ghost with System Exclusive
West Stockbridge— On Friday, May 12th at 7 p.m., the Foundry brings back Adiós Ghost with System Exclusive.
Adiós Ghost draws from a broad range of influences, focusing psych, early aughts dance/electronic, R&B and funk through a “heavy disco” lens. The band’s debut, self-titled EP came out in early 2013 and was met with praise, described by critics as “wild and worldly”, “full bodied, and impassioned” and “intensely colorful.” Moving forward, Adiós Ghost expanded upon their founding influences, and drummer Alex Loew tacked on the role of producer-engineer. They released their second EP in June 2016, followed by their first full-length in April 2017. After a tour of the East Coast, South, and Midwest, the band began working on their follow-up with producer Phil Mossman (LCD Soundsystem, Primal Scream).
System Exclusive, made up of Ari Blaisdell and Matt Jones, are a Pasadena based two-piece band bearing an armful of mini synths, making heart-throbbing “capital P” pop cut with more than a hint of post-punk. Blaisdell’s vocals hearken back to openhearted 80’s hitmakers unafraid to quiver in the name of love, and they’re buoyed by Jones’ laser-gridded synth concoctions and heavy hand on the ones and twos.
The concert is Friday, May 12th at 7 p.m. at the Foundry on Harris Street in West Stockbridge. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door. This is an indoor event. Visit the Foundry online for tickets and more information. Parking is limited at the venue so please utilize the three public parking lots in Town. To avoid a parking ticket, visit the Foundry online for further details.
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WAM and BTG present “What the Constitution Means to Me”
Lenox— WAM Theatre is thrilled to announce that their 2023 Season will open with the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-nominated play “What the Constitution Means to Me” by Heidi Schreck, directed by WAM’s Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven, and co-produced by Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG). Performances will run from May 18th to June 3th on the Larry Vaber Stage at the Unicorn Theater, Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge, MA.
“What the Constitution Means to Me“ is a boundary-breaking play that breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human play, Heidi resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.
Addressing themes such as domestic abuse, reproductive rights, and immigration, WAM Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Group join forces to bring this timely and galvanizing play to Berkshire audiences. Both theaters are honored to be presenting the area premiere of a celebrated and timely play that the New York Times called “Brilliantly digressive, insistently personal”; Nation called “Funny, beguiling and emotionally vivid”; and Time Out New York raved is “A wildfire! Something every citizen must see. Heidi Schreck’s play has tears on its cheeks and the torch of liberty in its fist.”
“WAM is thrilled to be learning about sensory-friendly performances from Berkshire Theatre Group for our first sensory-friendly performance on Thursday, May 31 at 6pm. We are also excited BTG is working with WAM on our sliding scale ticketing options, removing one of the largest barriers keeping people away from the theatre—cost,” shared Kristen van Ginhoven, WAM’s Producing Artistic Director. “It’s also exciting, after having successfully offered child-care stipends in 2022, to expand that initiative this year to caregiving reimbursements. Any folks out there who are being heroic caregivers can come to the theatre and get the cost of caring for their loved one reimbursed by filling out a simple form on the WAM Theatre website”.
The show runs from Thursday, May 18th through Saturday, June 2nd at The Unicorn Theatre on East Street in Stockbridge. Tickets are $26-$96. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit wamtheatre.com or BerkshireTheatreGroup.org or contact the Colonial Theatre Ticket Office by calling 413-997-4444.
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Art on Main presents “Reverie” by Natalie Tyler and Kiki Dufault
Lenox— From May 12th through May 21st, Art on Main presents “Reverie“ by Natalie Tyler and Kiki Dufault.
Sculptor Natalie Tyler and Painter Kiki Dufault combine their vision, inspiration, and techniques to create a unique exhibition, “Reverie“ at Art on Main Street in West Stockbridge. Both artists draw inspiration from nature and explore humans’ complex relationship with the Natural World. Kiki Dufault, a painter, uses broad and gestural brush strokes full of color. With the movement of paint, a dialogue between the figure and the natural world organically evolves. Natalie Tyler, a sculptor, creates work that captures nature’s quiet moments in time to give a sense of permanence. Recently, her glass sculptures investigate the effects climate has on the environment.
Reverie runs from May 12th through May 21st. Hours are Thursday though Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Art on Main Gallery on Main Street in West Stockbridge. There is an opening reception on Saturday, May 13th from 4 to 6 p.m. Learn more by visiting Art on Main Gallery online.
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Berkshire Mountain Comedy Arts Festival Presents National Touring Comedy Act
Lenox— On Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m., Berkshire Mountain Comedy Arts Festival and Shakespeare & Company present “Funny Women of a Certain Age®” at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, featuring comedians Missy Hall, Vanessa Hollingshead, and series creator Carole Montgomery.
“Funny Women of a Certain Age®” is a show straight from the unfettered mouths and uninhibited minds of the funniest, most daring, and most experienced people in comedy: the women who have seen it all.
Creator of “Funny Women of a Certain Age®”, Carole Montgomery has more than two dozen television credits as a respected veteran of the standup comedy scene nationwide. In addition to her numerous television appearances, she has headlined clubs and colleges across the U.S. and has starred in two different Las Vegas production shows. In her 10 years as a Las Vegas performer, it’s estimated that she has been seen by more than five million audience members.
Missy Hall is the 2013 winner of the Laugh Out Loud Competition, has worked as a warm-up comic for Harry Connick, Jr. at CBS Television, and her freshman comedy album “Miss Representation” was a first-round Grammy nominee in 2012 for funniest comedy album. A seasoned actress/singer, Missy was featured in “Road Spill “on TruTV and in the feature film “Days of Power” with Eric Roberts, released in 2018. Hall was also a finalist in the professional category of the 2018 Ladies Out Loud competition, a finalist at the 2018 Big Sky Comedy Festival, a performer at HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival, a headliner at the 2019 San Diego Comedy Festival, and made Best of the Fest in the 2019 Burbank Comedy Festival. In 2020, she performed virtually in the Big Pine Comedy Festival and once again in the Burbank Comedy Festival. She has also recently appeared in an AMC commercial on Jezebel for the new show “Kevin Can F*&k Himself.“
Vanessa Hollingshead appeared in the Showtime Special “Funny Women of a Certain Age” hosted by Fran Drescher in 2019, and has appeared on Marc Maron’s “WTF Podcast,” with a listenership of six million. She is a regular on John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything” podcast on Sirius, and was featured at the 2019 New York Comedy Festival. She taped her fourth stand-up album at New York Comedy Club, performed at Gotham Live, had a special on Comedy Central for which she’s performed internationally. Hollingshead was listed on Oxygen’s TV Special “Fifty of the Funniest Women Alive,” and has had 23 TV appearances, and throughout her career has worked with comedians including Jerry Seinfeld, Dane Cook, George Carlin, Ray Romano, and Brad Garett, among others.
The show is on Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m., at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre on Kemble Street in Lenox. Tickets are $42. For tickets or for more information or to purchase, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353.
