The W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series will present Reggie Harris and Scott Ainslie in "Long Time Comin'" Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. Photo courtesy Loyd Artists

Bits & Bytes: ‘Long Time Comin’’ at MMRHS; Sandy Hook vigil; ‘Symbols of Civilization?’; ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Mount; ‘Noises Off’

The candlelight vigil will remember the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and all Americans who have been killed or injured by guns since the event took place.

‘Long Time Comin’’ to feature Reggie Harris and Scott Ainslie

Great Barrington — The W.E. B. Du Bois Educational Series will present “Long Time Comin’” with Scott Ainslie and Reggie Harris Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at Monument Mountain Regional High School. The event will begin with a spoken word performance by students from Monument Mountain, Pittsfield and Taconic high schools arranged by poet Ted Thomas.

“Long Time Comin’” takes its name from the Sam Cooke song “A Change Is Gonna Come” and refers to both the spirit and the content of the dialogue between friends Ainslie, a white bluesman, and Harris, a black folksinger. Both educators as well musicians, Ainslie and Harris met 15 years ago while teaching courses at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. Harmonizing in ways that evoke the meeting of old-school gospel and blue-eyed soul singers, Harris and Ainslie will weave together spirituals, songs of the Underground Railroad, civil rights anthems, work and slave songs, blues, and personal material as they lay out a collaborative history, carrying the audience from the depths of slavery to the heights of freedom.

The performance is free and open to the public. For more information, call MMRHS at (413) 528-3346.

–E.E.

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Vigil to remember victims of gun violence

Lakeville, Conn. — On Friday, Dec. 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at St. Mary Church, 76 Sharon Rd., the Northwest Corner Committee for the Prevention of Gun Violence will hold the fifth annual candlelight vigil in remembrance of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and for all Americans who have been killed or injured by guns since the event took place. For more information, contact northwestcornercommittee@gmail.com.

–E.E.

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Joe Wheaton’s ‘Symbols of Civilization?’ sculpture show at Lauren Clark Fine Art

A metal sculpture by Joe Wheaton. Photo courtesy Lauren Clark Fine Art

Great Barrington — Lauren Clark Fine Art will host “Symbols of Civilization?”, a metal sculpture installation by Joe Wheaton, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, through Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Wheaton has worked for the past 28 years as a metal sculptor. Beginning as a potter interested in early Asian ceramics, he also studied printmaking and has made photographs for the past 40 years. More recently he has been working with projection layering software, which enables him to use his over-70,000 pictures and videos in complex projected installations. He is currently making sculpture and projection experiences as well as creating two-dimensional images taken from the projections.

For more information, contact Lauren Clark Fine Art at (413) 528-4132 or lauren@laurenclarkfineart.com.

–E.E.

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The Mount to present ‘A Christmas Carol’

David Anderson in ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Photo: Daniel Region

Lenox — On Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m., the Mount will present a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” performed by David Anderson of Walking the dog Theater in Ghent, New York.

Directed by Ted Pugh, Anderson’s hour-long rendition is a modern revival of performances based on the tale that Dickens himself gave throughout the northeastern U.S. in the 1860s. Now in its 12th season, Walking the dog Theater’s professional touring production of “A Christmas Carol” will be seen this winter in communities in New York, Connecticut, Missouri, China and Taiwan.

The performance is free but reservations are required due to limited seating. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Mount at (413) 551-5100 or info@edithwharton.org.

–E.E.

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BCC Players to present ‘Noises Off’

Pittsfield — The BCC Players will present the Tony Award-winning comedy “Noises Off” by Michael Frayn Friday, Dec. 15, and Saturday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m. at Berkshire Community College’s Boland Theatre. Directed by Kevin McGerigle, “Noises Off” is a play within a play about an ambitious director and his troupe of mediocre actors who are putting together a silly sex comedy titled “Nothing On.” “Noises Off” won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Play. Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 for students, alumni, staff and senior citizens. For tickets and more information, call (413) 236-2100.

–E.E.