‘Screenagers’ to be shown at MMRHS
Great Barrington — “Screenagers,” a film about growing up and finding balance in the digital age, will be shown Thursday, Dec. 8, at 6:30pm at Monument Mountain Regional High School (MMRHS). Sponsored by the Southern Berkshire Shared Services Project (Berkshire Hills, Farmington River, Lee, Lenox, Richmond, and Southern Berkshire school districts), Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) and the Berkshire Waldorf High School, the film will be followed by a discussion moderated by Berkshire Hills Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Peter Dillon with a panel of local experts including, Richmond Consolidated School Principal Monica Zanin, Berkshire Waldorf High School Faculty Chair Dr. Stephen Sagarin and Stockbridge Family Medicine family practitioner and GBRSS trustee Dr. Joseph Cooney.
“Screenagers” is a film by doctor, filmmaker and mother Delaney Ruston. Ruston turned the camera on her own family and others, revealing stories that depict messy struggles over social media, video games, academics and Internet addiction. Issues are different for boys and girls, so the film follows individual students’ stories, interwoven with cutting edge science and insights from thought leaders such as Peggy Orenstein, Sherry Turkle, Simon Sinek, as well as leading brain scientists who present evidence on real changes happening in the brain.
Admission is free and all are welcome. Parents of children in the fifth grade and older are encouraged to bring their children to the screening. For more information, call MMRHS at (413) 528-3346.
–E.E.
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Shakespeare & Company to present ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Lenox — Shakespeare & Company will present “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” the holiday classic adapted from the 1946 film, Thursday, Dec. 15, through Friday, Dec. 18. A special performance to benefit the Company’s 40th anniversary season will take place on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 5:30 p.m.
Adapted by Joe Landry from the original screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Joe Swerling, the play is set in a radio studio on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1946, when five radio personalities are live on-air and retelling the story of George Bailey, who goes on a journey, with angel Clarence at his side, to find out what the world would have been like if he had never been born. The play is presented with live sound effects and rapid character changes from all the actors who also perform radio jingles, and popular holiday and Christmas songs reminiscent of the time. The production is directed by Jenna Ware and features Company actors Jonathan Croy, Jennie M. Jadow, David Joseph, Sarah Jeanette Taylor and Ryan Winkles.
The benefit performance will begin with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar at 5:30 p.m., followed by live music by the Lucky 5 at 7:30 p.m. Following the performance, an after-party to welcome Artistic Director Allyn Burrows will take place at Firefly Gastropub. Tickets for the benefit are $200 and $150 and can be obtained by contacting (413) 637-1199 x105 or zfenoff@shakespeare.org. For tickets to and more information regarding the general performances, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Shakespeare & Company box office at (413) 637-3353.
–E.E.
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Hotchkiss School to host contemporary painting exhibit
Lakeville, Conn. — The Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School will present the contemporary painting exhibit “Marjory Reid Plus Two: Janet Rickus, Warner Friedman” Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, through Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. An artists’ reception will be held Saturday, Dec. 10, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Marjory Reid taught art at the Hotchkiss School from 1986–2000. An abstract painter, Reid has exhibited widely throughout the country and has received several grants and awards. Rickus employs a meticulous approach to composition, carefully measuring the objects chosen as her subjects and then depicting them at their actual scales. She is represented by galleries in New York City and in Boston, Lincoln and Nantucket, Massachusetts. Initially trained as an engineer, Friedman uses architectural elements as framing devices in his large-scale landscape paintings, creating a trompe l’oeil effect. Hiss work is part of several permanent collections, including the Berkshire Museum and the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
For more information, contact the Hotchkiss School at (860) 435-4423.
–E.E.
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Angel Tree program seeks donations
Pittsfield — The Salvation Army Pittsfield Corps is seeking food donations and help with its annual Angel Tree that provides gifts for children in need.
The Salvation Army is requesting a variety of food donations to feed as many as 300 local families this holiday season. Desired food supplies include turkey, ham, corn, peas, green beans, gravy, stuffing and instant mashed potatoes. Other food items and monetary donations are also we welcome. In addition to food, The Salvation Army is looking to make the holiday season brighter for almost 300 local children and teenagers through its annual Angel Tree program. Angel Tree tags, which will provide clothing and toys for 183 children and 100 teenagers, are available at the Salvation Army Pittsfield Corps, Big Lots and the Town of Richmond Post Office.
For more information, contact Captain Darlene Higgins at (413) 442-0624.
–E.E.
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Cafe Palestina to screen ‘Censored Voices’
Great Barrington — Cafe Palestina will present the third film in its Film Festival series, “Censored Voices,” on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House. “Censored Voices” centers around intimate conversations recorded by a group of young kibbutzniks with soldiers returning from the 1967 Six-Day War. Admission is free and light refreshments will be available. All are welcome.
–E.E.
